Top Zambian officials are denying reports that President Levy Mwanawasa has died, news agencies reported Thursday.
Mwanawasa was transferred to a French hospital after suffering a stroke in Egypt on the eve of this week's African Union summit.
A Johannesburg radio station said on Thursday that a Zambian diplomat in South Africa had confirmed Mwanawasa's death, but Reuters reported later from Lusaka that Vice President Rupiah Banda had issued a statement saying the report was not true.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) said Zambian Information Minister Mike Mulongoti made a special radio and television broadcast in which he said: "We spoke with the people at Mwanawasa's bedside a few minutes ago, including his wife, Maureen, who said President Mwanawasa was still alive and breathing."
However, dpa quoted other, unnamed Zambian sources as saying the reports were true and Banda had called a special cabinet meeting. Mulongoti said the government would issue another bulletin on Mwanawasa's condition early Thursday evening.
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I pray and hope that the information spreading that our beloved President His Excellency Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa State Council is dead, is force.
We were caught up with fear this morning when the rumour went round this morning desturbing classes as lecturers and students could not concetrate. Some students started weeping and were only stopped when it was asid that ther is no confirmation.
The 13:15 ZNBC Network news was however reassuring and right now all of us hope that let this rumour end up as a bad rumour. Zambia still need President Mwanawasa.Our country could have not being were it si had it no been for radical leadership of Mwanawasa. God bless us.
May the lord heal our beloved president. we love him for his confident courage no fear no favour and fighting corruption. hes a hero! please lord i trust and believe u will heal him. frm chikosaula
I pray and hope that the information spreading that our beloved President His Excellency Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa State Council is dead, is force.
We were caught up with fear this morning when the rumour went round this morning desturbing classes as lecturers and students could not concetrate. Some students started weeping and were only stopped when it was said that there was no confirmation.
The 13:15 ZNBC Network news was however reassuring. Right now all of us hope that let this end up as a bad rumour. Zambia still need President Mwanawasa.Our country could have not being were it it had it no been for radical leadership of Mwanawasa. God bless us.
The death reports are indeed disturbing. I hope they end as rumors and wish that the president pulls through. May God take control.
I just hope the Zambian Government could inform us with total accuracy and dispel these rumours. But as a person who works in the hospital and deals with these issues everyday, i will tell you people over here what i expect to happen.There are three scenarios that i thing will possibly happen.First of all, if he had a stroke and it is conformed it was a stroke not a minor stroke, then it is almost unlikely that he will ever be president again even if he survives.With a stroke, i expect that he will lose function on half side of his body and in some cases lose his mental capacity forever, but if his mind is there he still can be president but it will be very hard for him to run the country because it will be many months of physical therapy,many months to see if his mind will be the same as before and it will take a long time to know for sure the damage done, unless brain scan results are released and i know they will not released.Second scenario, he maybe brain dead, clinically that means he is dead, he is just on life support and it will be upto his wife or relatives to decide to either pull the plug and let him eventually die or decide to keep him there, he can be on life support for even 20 years but never wake up.The final scenario is that he was mis diagnosed with a stroke, maybe he had a brain hemorrage and if he is lucky and it wasnt fatal, he will surive and just be fine but he will need a future with much medication and needs to be monitored alot. Personally, i dont think the outcome is good if he had a stroke, let us prepare for the worst but put him prayer for the best case scenario.
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