Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is
critically ill in a South African hospital and his supporters should
"brace for the worst", a party source with knowledge of his condition
said on Tuesday.
The 65-year-old has been in and out of hospital since
disclosing in June 2016 that he had colon cancer. He returned to Johannesburg
in neighbouring South Africa for his latest round of treatment in early
January.
"From the medical report that I received yesterday the
situation is not looking good. He is critically ill and we should brace for the
worst," the source said.
Tsvangirai's illness has divided his Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party, with officials publicly jockeying to succeed the
former trade union leader.
Last month, Tsvangirai said it was time for the older
generation to step back and make way for "new hands", raising
prospects of leadership change.
Without its founder at the helm, the MDC is likely to face
immediate instability and could even split, handing a gift to new President
Emmerson Mnangagwa in an election expected within the next six months.
Mnangagwa came to power in November after a de facto
military coup against 93-year-old Robert Mugabe, the former guerrilla leader
who had run Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.
Tsvangirai spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said the MDC leader
was "stable but the nation should keep on praying."
- Reuters
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