Zambian President Now Said to Be Alive by Gov't, After Reports of Death Surfaced

by jhaber | July 3, 2008 at 07:32 am | 217 views | 3 comments

Report: Zambian President, Harsh Critic of Mugabe, Dies

Zambian president, Levy Mwanawasa, a stern critic of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, was reported dead earlier today by several media outlets. Now it seems reports of his death may have been premature. The government of Zambia is now saying President Mwanawasa is alive and did not die in a Paris hospital today after suffering a stroke earlier this week. It was reported on iConflict after an email from a source living in Zambia said the radio announced his death.

According to initial reports, a Zambian high commission spokesman said the 59-year-old died in the early hours of the morning after being rushed to hospital in Egypt on Sunday ahead of the African Union Summit earlier this week. He had complained of sharp chest pains.

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jordan

at 08:13 on July 3rd, 2008

good stuff:

jhaber, I like this story. It's good stuff.

Rachel Nixon

at 12:24 on July 3rd, 2008

The Zambian Government has denied that the president has died.

LUSAKA (AFP) — Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa remains in intensive care in a French hospital after suffering a stroke earlier this week, his government said Thursday as it denied reports that he had died.

Information Minister Mike Mulongoti told state radio and television that Mwanawasa, 59, was responding well to treatment and that doctors were happy with his progress.

He was being treated at Percy-Clamart military hospital outside Paris after suffering a stroke while attending an African Union summit in Egypt.

"The president still remains in the intensive care unit but he is responding well to treatment. He has made steady progress," Mulongoti said.

He described reports that the Zambian leader had died as "malicious."

The reports have caused diplomatic confusion: South Africa's President, Thabo Mbeki, mentioned at a ceremony that Mwanawasa had died - though the Foreign Ministry later issued a statement saying there had been a "misunderstanding".