Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has been admitted to intensive care in a Paris hospital but is in a stable condition, his vice-president said on Wednesday.
Mwanawasa is current chairperson of the Southern African Development Community, which has been mediating between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition seeking to end a political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
Mwanawasa (59) was rushed to a hospital on Sunday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after suffering a stroke just before an African Union summit. He was flown to France from Egypt on Tuesday.
”He has been admitted to Percy Military Hospital in Paris, France. The president’s condition has remained stable. He is receiving treatment for hypertension in the intensive-care unit,” Vice-President Rupiah Banda said in a statement.
The Zambian leader is a favourite of the International Monetary Fund and other Western donors, who have extended billions of dollars in debt relief after his crackdown on government spending and launch of an anti-graft drive.
He suffered a mild stroke in 2006. — Reuters