Mugabe favoured successor falls sick treatment
You're likely referring to Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was widely seen as Robert Mugabe's favored successor before Mugabe's ousting in 2017.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, also known as "The Crocodile," was a long-time ally of Mugabe and served as his vice president from 2014 to 2017. He was seen as the likely successor to Mugabe, who was 93 years old at the time.
However, Mnangagwa's fortunes took a turn for the worse in August 2017, when he was attacked with a poisonous substance at a rally in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He was hospitalized in South Africa for several weeks, where he received treatment for the poisoning.
The attack on Mnangagwa was widely seen as an attempt to eliminate him as a potential successor to Mugabe, and it sparked widespread speculation about who would succeed the aging leader. Mugabe eventually fired Mnangagwa as vice president in November 2017, paving the way for his own wife, Grace Mugabe, to take over the position.
Mnangagwa's health issues continued to be a topic of concern in the years that followed. In 2019, he was hospitalized in Singapore for several weeks, where he received treatment for an undisclosed illness. He later returned to Zimbabwe and resumed his duties as president.
Despite his health issues, Mnangagwa has remained a dominant figure in Zimbabwean politics and has continued to play a key role in the country's government.