Morgan Tsvangirai left a hospital Saturday, a day after his wife, Susan, was killed in the collision, officials said.A ball cap covered Tsvangirai’s bandaged head.
The couple, who were married in 1978, have six children.
The crash happened on a two-lane highway between Tsvangirai’s hometown,
Buhera, and the capital, Harare.
It comes only weeks after the start of a power-sharing agreement between
Tsvangirai and his political rival, President Robert Mugabe.
0Tsvangirai’s political party, the Movement for Democratic Change, said
Friday that it was too early to tell whether the crash was anything other
than an accident.
But on Saturday, MDC members told CNN that Tsvangirai thought the crash was
deliberate.
Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary-general, speaking during a tearful press
conference, said Tsvangirai should have had better security.
"If there had been a police escort maybe what happened yesterday could have
not have happened," Biti said.
"(A) police escort would have warned oncoming vehicles of a VIP arriving. I
think authorities must understand the omission.
"We hope that this omission will be rectified, that the prime minister must
be given the protection that ought to be accorded to a prime minister."
Biti said the MDC would launch its own investigation.
Analysts say the crash raises suspicions of foul play. One former U.S.
diplomat called for an outside investigation, saying it was not the first
time one of Mugabe’s political foes had been killed or injured in a car
crash.
Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader, took office last month under
a power-sharing deal with Mugabe following a contentious election.
The MDC reached the agreement with Mugabe in September after months of angry
dispute that included violence. More than 200 deaths, mainly opposition
supporters, were reported leading up to and after the election.
"I’m skeptical about any motor vehicle accident in Zimbabwe involving an
opposition figure," said Tom McDonald, the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe from
1997-2001. "President Mugabe has a history of strange car accidents when
someone lo and behold dies — it’s sort of his M.O. of how they get rid of
people they don’t like."
McDonald cited the car crash deaths of Defense Minister Moven Mahachi in
2001, Employment Minister Border Gezi in 1999 and Elliot Manyika, a
government minister and former regional governor, last year.
"So, when I hear that Tsvangirai was in an accident it gives me pause,"
McDonald said.
Now an attorney with the Washington law firm Baker Hostetler, he urged a
full independent investigation.
However, he added that traffic accidents were common in Zimbabwe. The
highway Tsvangirai was traveling on was only two lanes and tractor-trailers
were common, McDonald said. Vehicles in the country were often in bad shape
and drivers inexperienced.
"It’s certainly plausible that this was just one of those tragic things," he
said.
cnn
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