BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau ? The president of Guinea-Bissau left the country for what the government said was a medical checkup, heightening speculation about the health of the leader who has been frequently hospitalized since his election two years ago.
Spokesman Agnelo Regala said President Malam Bacai Sanha had been taken Tuesday to the capital of neighboring Senegal for treatment. He called it a "routine medical checkup."
Reached by telephone on Thursday, Prime Minister Carlos Gomez Jr. refused to elaborate, saying only: "I cannot say anything (about the president's health) at this moment."
Sanha's departure was sudden. On Tuesday he missed the swearing-in ceremony of new members of his government, who chose to cancel the ceremony after the president's no-show. He was also scheduled to meet the U.S. Ambassador to Senegal, who is visiting the country this week.
The suddenness of his departure and the fact that it was not planned has raised questions about Sanha's illness. A diplomat who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the press said the 64-year-old president is a diabetic and has become a regular visitor in Dakar, the Senegalese capital. Hospitals there are better equipped than in tiny Bissau, a nation of just 1.6 million people.
A veteran observer with close ties to the president's entourage described the illness as "advanced diabetes" combined with a hemoglobin problem. Since taking office in 2009, Sanha has been hospitalized in Paris, as well as in Dakar.
Journalists that saw him earlier this week when he hosted South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said Sanha looked visibly frail and unwell. He also appeared to have lost weight.
Sanha won the 2009 presidential election in a peaceful transition of power that marked a rare bright spot for Guinea-Bissau.
He replaced President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira who was assassinated in March 2009. Sanha is a career politician who started out as the head of the youth wing of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde, or PAIGC, the body that fought for the country's independence from Portugal in 1974.
He went on to become a member of its executive committee, and then served as a governor of a province. He is nicknamed "The Patriarch," due to his position as the leader of his party, as well as what insiders say is his evenhandedness and cool temperament.
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Callimachi reported from Dakar, Senegal.
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