Zimbabwe’s President is likely to seek refuge abroad after he is forced to resign or removed from power through impeachment in Zimbabwe this week.
Asked if Mugabe will leave the country, former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said: “It’s very difficult to be certain about that.
“Part of him must be very, very upset at the prospect that he couldn’t live in the country that he in own very bad way… he has presided over for so many years.
“And yet one assumes there are a lot of overseas bank accounts and issues of that kind to guarantee that he lives in comfort for however many years he has left.
“There is also a big question mark over his wife Grace Mugabe. There are reports she has been arrested so she may not be able to leave the country.”
The generals behind a military coup on Tuesday wanted to stop Grace from succeeding her husband on his death after her main rival was fired two weeks ago.
Grace has not been seen since the coup and her rival – ousted Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa – has now replaced Mugabe as the leader of Zanu-PF.
After being fired two weeks ago, Mnangagwa fled to South Africa. He is believed to have returned to Zimbabwe but has not yet been sighted.
After being forced out, Mugabe might decide to seek refuge in South Africa where he has property and his sons live.
The Zimbabwean President also has a good relationship with South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma and spoke to him on the phone after the coup.
But Mugabe wife Grace may not be able to go to South Africa because she was accused of assaulting a model in Johannesburg in August.
South African model Gabriella Engels claimed she was attacked by Grace in a Johannesburg hotel room. Grace denies the allegation.
There are also suggestions that Mugabe could go to Malaysia where he owns property or Singapore where he gets regular medical treatment.
Mugabe could move to South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Congo, Kenya or Somalia, according to the latest odds from bookmaker Paddy Power.
A Paddy Power spokesman said: “More problems for Mugabe, as no one seems to want to take him in.
“An unlikely refuge in the UK is a quarter as likely as stopping with Kim Jong-in.”
Here are the latest odds on where Mugabe could take refuge, according to Paddy Power.
1/3 South Africa
7/1 Swaziland
8/1 Namibia
8/1 Botswana
10/1 Zambia
10/1 Congo
20/1 Kenya
25/1 Somalia
66/1 North Korea
250/1 UK