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Nduduzo Tshuma in Gweru
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday castigated some elements peddling false allegations that Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently fell sick after eating ice cream from Gushungo Dairy owned by the First Family.

Addressing more than 120 000 party supporters at the 7th Presidential Youth Interface Rally in Mkoba, Midlands Province, President Mugabe said the VP’s South African-based doctor had briefed him on his deputy’s ailment and ruled out a case of food poisoning.

VP Mnangagwa suffered a sudden illness during a Zanu-PF Youth Interface rally in Gwanda early this month, experiencing a severe bout of vomiting and diarrhoea and had to be flown to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he received treatment.

The VP on Thursday also dismissed reports that he ate ice cream from Gushungo Dairy on the day of the rally, saying the people behind those claims were unscrupulous elements bent on creating a rift between him and the First Family.

President Mugabe, who had a meeting with VP Mnangagwa’s doctor for more than an hour at the State House in Harare, said the health practitioner said they had to first work on stabilising the VP from the complicated ailment that almost took his life and further tests were being done to establish the cause.

The President also took a swipe at some elements who suggested that VP Mnangagwa had been poisoned by Defence Minister Dr Sidney Sekeramayi and his Health and Childcare counterpart Dr David Parirenyatwa.

He spoke in reference to an earlier speech by First lady Dr Grace Mugabe who rapped some elements in Midlands and Masvingo provinces that she said were going around insulting and spreading falsehoods against the First Family.

The President said he was hearing some sentiments that there were people who ate ice cream from Gushungo Dairy laced with poison but VP Mnangagwa who fell sick during the rally said he did not eat the ice cream.

“They say there are witches, Dr Sekeramayi and Parirenyatwa, the doctors we had in the liberation war who were attending to our fighters and our people. Imagine now, we are saying they are the ones who poisoned our colleague. It’s being said by people who are hallucinating.

“How are the people you are accusing expected to feel because the truth is they did not do anything.”

President Mugabe said VP Mnangagwa had told him in detail his ordeal and his South African doctor of 20 years visited the country and spent an hour with him at State House explaining the Vice President’s aliment.

He said the doctor explained to him that in the case of food poisoning, different foodstuffs create different kinds of toxins but upon tests on the VP’s blood, food poisoning was ruled out.

He said however the doctor expressed shock at the VP’s critical condition as he was vomiting, hallucinating and his body swelling.

President Mugabe said the doctor also said the VP was fast losing his strength as he had lost a lot of blood and had five intravenous drips injected into his system so that he could regain his strength.

“This man was going,” said President Mugabe, adding that the VP’s brain was being affected and the doctors worked on bringing his strength and then conduct further tests afterwards.

He said the doctor further told him, “He is fit again, he is strong and is back but we want to monitor and carry further tests to establish what caused the ailment and we will do adequate research and we will do further reviews so that it doesn’t come again but there is no food poisoning, no, we will look where it possible came from.

“I said yes we need that very badly, he left in a rush, but he said they will continue making reviews.”

President Mugabe said it was normal to fall sick as the body wears with time.

“Some ailments attack you because your body is no longer as strong,” said President Mugabe adding that the VP had been ordered by his doctors not to eat certain food stuffs like beef and others.

“I said I should tell you the truth. Your colleague has recovered, he is now strong and back to normal.

“Anyway we are happy, God bless, we said God bless, we must pray and pray and pray so we are together again and let’s be together. Our way is one of unity, one of love for each other.”

President Mugabe called on the party leadership in Midlands to be in step and remember the journey they have gone with the national leadership.

“Be the people with the experience who know that we have come too far with the leaders and not to be swayed into insulting us, we will ask where it is coming from. We come a long way united with these men, Vice President Mnangagwa and Vice President Mphoko,” he said.

He said the allegations of witchcraft circulating in the party were alien to the revolutionary party.

President Mugabe said Zanu-PF is a principled party guided by a constitution and those who fall foul of the rules are censured accordingly.

“If you want to behave like Tsvangirai, (Morgan) get out of the party, we don’t want you, you no longer belong to us.

“Those who fell foul of the constitution left,” said President Mugabe in reference to sacked Vice President Dr Joice Mujuru.

He said after leaving Zanu-PF, the Dr Mujuru grouping formed a party but started fighting among themselves leading to a split into two factions, a sign that they were not guided by any ideology.

President Mugabe said Zanu-PF was united because of the legacy of unity left by the founding fathers of the liberation struggle.

He castigated the spirit of individualism in the party saying the party is run through collaborative and consultative work.