Zimbabwe leader Morgan Tsvangirai ill after meeting, airlifted to hospital

Harare: Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai suffered severe vomiting after a party meeting and was airlifted from Harare to a Johannesburg hospital, a senior member of the party said on Saturday.

Tsvangirai’s condition was currently stable, the person said, adding that the sudden illness did not relate to Tsvangirai’s ongoing cancer treatment.

The 65-year-old’s symptoms came on suddenly while at a meeting of his main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Thursday evening in Kadoma, a city around 160km southwest of the capital Harare, the person said. He was taken to hospital on Friday, the person added.

Tsvangirai, who leads a broad coalition of opposition parties, is due to challenge his long-time political foe President Robert Mugabe at an election next year.

Tsvangirai said last year that he was being treated for colon cancer.

Two other Zimbabwean political sources confirmed the details of his illness and move to South Africa. Reuters