Zimbabwe: Mugabe says VP was not food poisoned

By John Cassim

HARARE, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe Friday afternoon dismissed allegations that his deputy had been struck by food poisoning, calling the cause of his illness last month a mystery.

Mugabe made the statements at a rally in Gweru, a stronghold of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

"According to his Dr. Kristensky, based in South Africa, the VP's illness remains a mystery, as it was not connected to food poisoning at all,” Mugabe told a crowd of supporters.

According to Mugabe, the doctor came to his State House three days ago to clear the air on the alleged poisoning, as the first family had been accused of being behind the illness.

A few hours before the Gweru rally, Mnangagwa issued a statement dismissing reports that he ate ice cream from a dairy owned by Mugabe shortly before falling ill.

"The insinuation that I partook of an ice cream from the said dairy is false and mischievous, and being peddled by unscrupulous elements with the sinister agenda of creating a rift between me and the first family," Mnangagwa said in a statement.

After falling ill on Aug. 12, Mnangagwa was airlifted to a hospital in Gweru and subsequently to South Africa.

The poisoning allegations triggered panic and rifts in the government.

Information Minister Christopher Mushowe issued a statement blaming the ailment on stale food.

Meanwhile, Mnangagwa’s aide Energy Mutodi is facing criminal charges after a social media posting alleging poisoning by Defense Minister Sydney Sekeramayi or Health Minister David Parirenyatwa.

"They were together in a chopper on their way to Pelandaba Stadium and they ate grapes and samosas brought by Sydney Sekeramayi," Mutodi alleged.

Mugabe said people pointing fingers at Sekeramayi or Parirenyatwa should face the full force of the law.