Mugabe remains in Asia

It was not immediately clear if Mugabe was still holed up in Malaysia where he was attending the Langkawi Smart Partnership Dialogue, which ended on Thursday. Mugabe has this year frequented East Asia, particularly Singapore, where he has sought medical help for both himself and wife, Grace.

Last month he admitted that he underwent surgery in the Asian country to remove a cataract in his eye. But speculation is rife that he was seeking treatment for prostate cancer.

Despite frequenting Malaysia, the president may not have fond memories of that place, as on one of the visits he reportedly fell and was pictured with a plaster across his forehead.

While it was not clear why he remained behind, speculation was rife last night that he had again sought medical help in Asia. However, there was also speculation that maybe he could have gone to visit his daughter, Bona who is studying in Hong Kong. Insiders claimed Mugabe might return today, although they were not certain. Mugabe has made several trips to the East this year and when he last went to have his eyes checked it was reported that he demanded US$3 million from the Finance ministry.

It is reported that for the last trip, about US$7 million could have been provided for the president and his bloated entourage. Within the first three months, Mugabe had spent half the budget allocated to government travel activities in 2011.  This travel budget sums up to US$25 million — more than the government spends for health care measures for all its public servants. Higher civil servants are instructed to cancel all foreign journeys if not urgently required.

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