Ray was reportedly “unmoved” by what happened at the Mujuru’s Chisipite home, where security personnel apparently blocked his entrance. Ray eventually left without seeing Joice Mujuru, but added his “sincere condolences” to the family.
Queues of people had gathered at the Mujuru home to pay their respects. But the Vice President was forced to appeal for calm after hundreds of ZANU PF youths marched to the house demanding answers about the death. Jim Kunaka, the Harare leader of ZANU PF’s youth wing, reportedly said: “As youths we want to get to the bottom of it and find out whether it was a normal death; an electrical fault or whether it was the work of enemies.”
ZANU PF infighting has steadily increased this year, with party leader Robert Mugabe growing increasingly frail. The Mujuru camp has been waging a bitter feud with the faction led by Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa for ultimate control of the party when Mugabe passes. It is this infighting that has raised serious questions about Mujuru’s death this week.
Exiled journalist Tanonoka Joseph Whande told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that Mujuru’s death is likely the result of ZANU PF’s “cannibalism”. He said the party has shown time and time again how they “get rid of people who are expendable.”
“This is all speculation right now, but you don’t need to be experienced detectives to speculate about who is really responsible,” Whande said.
On Tuesday morning Mujuru’s body was found in the burnt out ruins of the Beatrice farmhouse he had illegally invaded some years ago. Initial reports said the blaze that gutted the house could be linked an electrical fault. But the mystery has deepened amid reports that there was no electricity at the property when Mujuru arrived there late Monday night. The Mujuru family is reportedly now considering hiring foreign investigative teams to determine exactly what led to Mujuru’s death.
Meanwhile the previous owner of the Beatrice farm where Mujuru’s body was discovered has spoken about the unlikelihood of someone being unable to escape the farmhouse if there was a fire.
Displaced commercial farmer Guy Watson-Smith, who was forced to leave the farm with just a single suitcase in 2001, said this week that the asbestos sheeting in the roof of the house “makes it absolutely fire-proof, and the walls were brick and cement.”
“All that could have burned was roofing timbers and ceilings, and to imagine the fire spreading quickly without help is hard to do. Finally there were more doors and windows than holes in a colander. Our main bedroom alone had 3 doors out of it and 4 double windows. How do you get trapped inside that?” Watson-Smith asked.
Post published in: News