PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe on Tuesday abandoned the ongoing Sadc summit in Swaziland after his health reportedly deteriorated.
Government sources said Mugabe arrived back in Harare late Tuesday evening and then left the capital just before 11pm. He had travelled to Swaziland on Monday.
The SADC summit was due to end on Wednesday.
“He came back today because of health issues. It has to do with prostate cancer and is due to fly out early on Wednesday to Dubai,” one source said.
Another source added: “He will be treated for urinary tract infection”.
Online flight trackers showed his Zim One Air Zimbabwe plane leaving Harare at 22:45 hours. The plane was last seen above the Indian Ocean, headed towards the Far East.
Mugabe has reportedly been battling prostate cancer and regularly travels to the Far East for treatment although his handlers claim the trips are just for eye surgery.
Pressure has been mounting on the 92-year-old Zimbabwean leader within and outside his ruling Zanu PF party.
Opposition parties and rights activists engaging in protests almost every week demanding that he steps down due to old age.
Veterans of the liberation struggle, a key Zanu PF affiliate, have also rejected Mugabe and declared they would not support him at the next elections which are due in 2018.