Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, hospitalised in France after suffering a stroke in June, required urgent surgery on Monday after a rapid deterioration in his health, Vice-President Rupiah Banda said.
”The team of doctors have reported that the intervention was successful but described the condition of His Excellency, the president, as serious,” Banda said, citing a sudden downturn in Mwanawasa’s health on Sunday.
The 59-year-old suffered a stroke in Egypt on June 29, on the eve of an African Union summit. It was his second stroke in just over two years. He was airlifted to France after initially being treated in Cairo.
Health Minister Brian Chituwo told Zambia’s Parliament earlier this month that Mwanawasa would likely remain in the intensive-care unit at the Percy Military Hospital near Paris for some time.
”Let us clearly remember that by the serious nature of our Republican president’s illness, the healing process will indeed be long,” Chituwo told MPs. — Sapa-AFP