I’m not dead:’ Zimbabwe’s Opposition Leader Tsvangirai denies claims

Harare – Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai took to Twitter Sunday to insist he was “very much alive” after claims on social media that he’d died of food poisoning.

“I hear there are morbid malicious rumours circulating that I am dead. Well, this tweet speaks for itself that I am very much alive, ” the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader tweeted from his @mrtsvangirai account on Sunday morning after a little-known news site ran a story saying it was “confirmed” Tsvangirai had died.

At this time of the year in Zimbabwe it is normally President Robert Mugabe who is rumoured to have died. The 92-year-old leader is currently on a month’s vacation.

Tsvangirai, who has been a prominent figure in Zimbabwean politics since the founding of the MDC in 1999, was being treated for colon cancer in 2016.

Luke Tamborinyoka, Tsvangirai’s spokesperson said in a statement on Sunday: “Zimbabweans should be rest assured that their leader is in good health. Today he will address a provincial council in Gwanda.” The opposition party’s secretary general Douglas Mwonzora confirmed later that Tsvangirai was “currently addressing” the Gwanda meeting.

Although he’s lost three presidential polls to Mugabe, Tsvangirai is expected to stand again in next year’s election. Mugabe also intends to stand.