CAIRO, July 26 (UPI) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has sent his prime minister to the African Union summit in Uganda, increasing speculation about the elderly leader's health.
Mubarak, 82, has been in power for 29 years and had gall bladder surgery at Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany in March. Mosques across Egypt were instructed by the government to pray for the president's health.
The president's aides gave no reason for Mubarak's cancellation of this trip to Kampala, Uganda, for the AU summit. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif is to attend.
Mubarak has periodically canceled meetings in the past several months but has also been in the public eye most weeks.
Even though doctors in Germany gave him a clean bill of health, worries have persisted. These appeared allayed last week when Mubarak appeared on television for 10 minutes to give a national address. He appeared strong, but thinner than usual, as he spoke on the eve of the annual Revolution Day to commemorate the military coup that toppled the monarchy in 1952.
UPI
