Aides: Mugabe will return to Zimbabwe

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HARARE, Zimbabwe, April 10 (UPI) -- Zimbabwe's 88-year-old president, Robert Mugabe, will end a private visit to Singapore Wednesday and return to his African nation, aides said.

The officials told The Africa Report there was no truth to rumors that Mugabe's time in Singapore was spent in the intensive care unit of a hospital. Mugabe aides said the president was in Singapore to arrange for his daughter Bona's post-graduate studies.

Since he left Zimbabwe March 31, two cabinet sessions have been canceled, fueling speculation Mugabe is seriously ill.

He also missed a high-profile meeting with Chinese Premier Hui Liang Yu and his deputy had to cut short a trip to Asia to attend to some of Mugabe's presidential duties, The Africa Report said.

"Mugabe is effectively controlling Zimbabwe from a deathbed," said political analyst Monica Mutasa. "This simple (sic) shows that he is prepared to rule till death."

Mutasa said Mugabe's health impacts the country's political landscape with everything revolving around his age and health.