VICE PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa Friday made a cryptic admission he almost died of food poisoning as he spoke publicly for the first time about his ordeal.

The VP was airlifted to South Africa two weeks ago suffering “severe diarrhoea” following poisoning fears while attending President Robert Mugabe’s youth interface rally in Gwanda.

He spent a full week while receiving treatment in the southern neighbour.

He returned home looking wasted.

VP Mnangagwa’s sudden ailment spark rumours with allies claiming this could have been an attempt on the Midlands godfather’s life by those fighting to stop him from succeeding Zimbabwe’s 93 year-old leader.

While government, through the health and information ministers, have tried to downplay the gravity of his ailment, the embattled VP Friday inadvertently admitted he almost died of the unfortunate experience.

He was addressing mourners during the funeral wake of former Vice President Simon Muzenda’s widow, Maud.

However, in attempts to console them, VP Mnangagwa told the mourners that death was an inevitable and unannounced occurrence which did not allow living beings to first conduct “feasibility studies” before striking.

He then referred to his ordeal, inadvertently admitting he had become too concerned about the inevitability of his own death.

“Handizivi kuti pandakararama apa mwari achandipa mamwe mangani. Pamwe uchangouya odzura hake. Mwari ndivo mukuru wazvose ajada kukutora hazvina muvhunzo. (I would not know that after surviving this, how many more years would the Creator allow me to live. He could very well come and yank me away. God is above everything. If He decides to take you, there is no question).”

The sly VP left it there.

Mnangagwa’s ailment, the first such serious ordeal since becoming a top government official some decades ago, was met with panic among his Zanu PF fanatics who went further to convene a prayer meeting at an open space in Harare’s Rotten Row area for his survival.

His followers said they were taking after charismatic preacher Emmanuel Makandiwa’s prophesies earlier during the year that a top official would suffer food poisoning and could only have his life spared through prayer.

Mnangagwa leads a Zanu PF faction that is tussling for party control ahead of President Mugabe’s well anticipated exit from politics due to old age.

But the feat has been made much more insurmountable through fierce resistance from the so-called G40, a party faction fronted by young Turks who want a retention of the status quo, short of which the First Lady Grace Mugabe or Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi should succeed the President.