Shocking revelation at inquest on Zimbabwean ex-general’s death

The body of Zimbabwe’s first army commander General Solomon Mujuru had a hole in the abdomen and emitted blue flames when it was retrieved from his farmhouse that was gutted by fire last year, an inquest heard on Wednesday.

Police Constable Clatwell Garisayi, who was the 23rd witness to give evidence after the inquest opened last week, was the first to give graphic details of how the body of the husband of Vice President Joice Mujuru was discovered.

“At the back of the house, people managed to identify a bluish flame. There was an object, which was burning. I peeped through the window and saw an object with folded hands...it was a akin to a human body,” he said.

When the body was finally retrieved, it took 10 buckets of water to put out the flames, the police officer revealed.

“The body was still on fire and there were strange blue flames coming out of both sides of his abdomen and around the body,” Cont Garisayi said.

Another police officer Inspector Simon Dube said: “The fire was bluish and the area covering the chest had flesh but the bottom area was heavily burnt and on the head only the skull remained.”

“His lungs and intestines were burnt extensively and the head was just a skull,” he said.

The general’s widow said after the hearing the inquest will provide answers to what happened to her husband whom many believe was assassinated.

“It’s becoming clearer and clearer what happened and the inquest is proving to be the best way of handling the matter,” Ms Mujuru said.

Last week she said the security lapses at the farm, which was supposed to be guarded around the clock, were “shocking.”

On Tuesday, the inquest was told that police at the nearest station had no vehicle to respond to the fire after they received a call at 3:15 am on August 16.

Gen Mujuru was considered to be the only politician in President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF who could stand up to the 87 year old leader.

He was believed to be leading one of the factions positioning themselves in anticipation of the ageing President Mugabe’s departure.

Last week, cross examining witnesses at the inquest, the VP said she had been kept in the dark about the probe.

“Firstly I was not given a chance to see the statements made by the witnesses to the police so that if possible I could assist them, “ Ms Mujuru said.

“I was never accorded a chance to see the relevant documents.”

She was cross examining three policemen who were guarding the farmhouse on the day her husband died.

The influential politician also raised questions about the calibre of police officers deployed to provide security to her husband.

When the inquest opened last Monday, the VP told journalists that she hoped the it would reveal what happened to her husband.

There were reports that Gen Mujuru led a faction in Zanu PF that was battling for the control of the party after President Mugabe’s departure.

A security guard posted at the late general’s house told the court that he heard what sounded like gunfire two hours before he was alerted to the fire.

Mr Clement Runhare said he thought poachers nearby were responsible until he was called to the late Gen Mujuru’s farmhouse whose roof had already collapsed.

The guard also told the court that the former army boss drove through the entrance gate to the farm with a passenger he could not identify.

But no other human remains were found at the house and police reports said he was alone.

The guard said police guarding the property about 30 kilometers from Harare had no phone phones and their communication radio was broken.

At least 20 witnesses have been summoned to testify at the weeklong hearing that could bring to the fore serious divisions in President Mugabe’s party.