Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe in hospital in Singapore Published duration 6 August 2019 Related Topics Zimbabwe after Mugabe

image copyright Getty Images image caption Robert Mugabe was forced out of office in late 2017

Zimbabwe's former leader Robert Mugabe, 95, has been in hospital in Singapore since April, his successor Emmerson Mnangagwa has said.

Mr Mugabe was making "good progress" and could be discharged soon, Mr Mnangagwa added.

He did not disclose Mr Mugabe's illness. In November, he said the ex-president was unable to walk because of ill-health and old age.

Mr Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 38 years until he was forced to resign in 2017.

The military had placed him under house arrest, and parliament had threatened to impeach him after accusing him of allowing his wife, Grace, to "usurp constitutional power".

His resignation opened the way for Mr Mnangagwa, his former deputy, to take power.

Mr Mugabe regularly travels to Singapore for medical check-ups but "unlike in the past when the former president would require just about a month for this, his physicians this time around determined that he be kept under observation for much longer", Mr Mnangagwa said in a statement.