General Chiwenga yesterday finally opened up on his sickness and revealed he was battling a disease of the oesophagus during his four-month absences where he was receiving treatment in China.

Mr Chiwenga broke his silence during a welcome party held for him at his rural home in Wedza.

“I was telling colleagues that I spent close to six months without seeing the sun. I only saw it this last Saturday upon returning home,” he said.

“I want to thank you all for your prayers. Those prayers made me to survive.

“Since I started falling sick in October last year, there were not many who thought I would heal completely. There were not many who thought I would be standing before you like this.

“The sickness is called idiopathic oesophageal stricture. It means that you cannot take in food and also you cannot even vomit. It involves blocking of the oesophagus and I spent a lot of time in the intensive care unit.”

VP Chiwenga thanked President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his team of Chinese medical doctors.