Mugabe 'suffering from prostate cancer, got two years to live'

Mugabe's battle with the disease was revealed to James McGee, the former US Ambassador to Harare, by Gideon Gono, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's Governor and the dictator's friend, during a private meeting in June 2008.

According to the cables, doctors have diagnosed the 87-year-old Zimbabwean President with prostate cancer several years ago, and in 2008 they told him that he could be dead by 2013, the British media reported.

In a report of a 2008 meeting released by WikiLeaks, McGee wrote that the RBZ governor told him Mugabe's condition had worsened and doctors said he could be dead within three to five years.

"According to Gono, Mugabe's doctor had recommended he cut back on his activities. Mugabe had told his doctor that he would leave office after the election," McGee wrote in a cable to Washington.

If true, the details confirm previous claims that Mugabe was suffering from prostate cancer and had sought treatment in Malaysia in January this year. He has appeared increasingly frail, making five trips to Singapore this year for treatment.

However, Gono has denied revealing Mugabe's illness, saying, "It's a lie. I wouldn't dare talk about that."