Harare - Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga was rushed to a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa on Saturday night, with his condition said to be in “terrible shape”.

No official comment could be obtained from government, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba not answering calls.

However, the African News Agency (ANA) has been reliably informed that Chiwenga was taken to Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. “He left last night [Saturday] for South Africa,” a source said.

Last October, Chiwenga was treated in Johannesburg. He reportedly received treatment for injuries sustained during the June bombing at a Mnangagwa campaign rally in Bulawayo that killed two security aides.

Chiwenga, 61, is a former military general who led the 2017 coup that ousted long-time ruler Robert Mugabe and is widely seen as the power behind Mnangagwa and the front-runner to succeed him.