Yesterday, August 29, South African Health Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi lambasted African Presidents that are fond of travelling abroad for medical treatment, hence draining the reserves of their respective countries.
His statement came at a time Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari just returned from one of his medical sojourns.
Below are African leaders that have travelled abroad for treatment in the past five years;
1.) Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari
The President of Africa’s most populous nation on assumption of office in May 2015, embarked on a six-day vacation in the United Kingdom between February 5 and 10, 2016.
On June 6, 2016, he embarked on another 10-day vacation to attend to what the Presidency described as “persistent ear infection.”
The 74-year-old Nigerian leader again left the country on January 19, 2017, which he prolonged due to doctors’ advice.
He set out for another vacation on May 7 before returning Saturday, August 19.
His long-awaited return was celebrated by his supporters among others.
He spent a total of 104 days abroad, making him the first President in Nigeria’s history to be away for such a long time.
2.) Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe
The continent’s oldest leader, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, has been flying out to Singapore to seek medical attention. He has been out twice this year alone.
The government says the 93-year-old suffers from eye cataract disputing the opposition claims that Mugabe is afflicted by a cancer. At a time when he was flying out to seek treatment, major hospitals in the country were in crisis.
Some had resorted to turning away non-emergency cases, at a point doctors had embarked on strikes, some facilities had announced the suspension of surgeries citing the unavailability of medicines.
3.) Benin’s President Patrice Talon
His presidency opened up about his condition disclosing that the 59-year-old underwent two successful surgical operations during his recent visit to Paris.
According to a statement released on Monday (June 19), one procedure was due to doctors finding a lesion in his prostate while the second operation was in his digestive system.
His absence for close to three weeks as is the case in most African countries, raised concerns and speculation about his whereabouts.
Talon “has completely recovered” and “is fully exercising his constitutional duties,” his office said upon his return to the country on Sunday (June 18).
4.) Angola’s President Jose Eduardo dos Santos
Oil-rich Angola for the first time in a long while officially confirmed that longtime president, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, was in Spain to seek medical treatment in May, 2017.
Despite leaving the country in early May, it was not until May 29, that the foreign minister confirmed the news after opposition parties heaped pressure on the government to disclose the location of the man who has led Angola since 1979.
Before the Minister’s clarification, fake news websites planted a story reporting the death of the 74-year-old, it took his daughter, Isabel Dos Santos, to debunk and chide the purveyors of such news on her social media handles.
5.) Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
In the case of the Algerian President,, his illness is difficult to hide, although its specific cause remains undisclosed. He had a stroke in 2013, which transferred his mobility to a wheelchair. But he has been going to France for medical treatment ever before the stroke occurred, and he has been going there periodically ever since for what his aides describe as medical checkups.
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