Africa
Evidence wiped out in Mururu case, officer says
AFP PHOTO / JEKESAI NJIKIZANA The lawyer of Zimbabwe vice president, Thakor Kewada, speaks to journalists as he leaves the court on January 16, 2012 at the end of first day of the inquest into the death of his client's husband, former army chief Solomon Mujuru, who was killed last year in a mysterious inferno, in a case that has roiled President Robert Mugabe's party.
Posted Thursday, January 26 2012 at 19:29
In Summary
- Experts have already ruled out an electrical fault and suspicion points to an arsonist
HARARE, Thursday
The cause of the fire that killed Zimbabwe’s first army commander, retired General Solomon Mujuru could not be ascertained because the evidence had been destroyed by scores of people who thronged the farmhouse after it was gutted by fire, an inquest has been told.
On the seventh day of the hearing into the death of one of the most influential politicians and a rival of President Robert Mugabe, Harare fire officers suggested the fire might have been started by an arsonist.
Gen Mujuru who was also the husband of Zimbabwe’s Vice President Joice Mujuru died on August 16 last year after fire gutted his farmhouse, about 30 kilometers from Harare.
His family suspects he was murdered and demanded the inquiry led by a Harare magistrate.
Mr Clever Mutoti, a Harare Fire Brigade station officer told the inquest the fire could have started from the bedroom or the main lounge because peeling off of plasters and cracking showed that the fire had been in the two rooms for a long time.
He said a fire could start in two rooms in cases of arson or short circuit.
Experts have already ruled out an electrical fault as the cause of the fire.
“In cases involving arson, the person who would have started the fire would have been of unsound mind or when there is a short circuit or when sockets are overloaded,” Mr Mufoti said.
“When we eventually arrived at the scene, most leads had been destroyed by people present.
“There were some pockets of fire here and there but the fire had already been put out.”
He said it took the Fire Brigade 30 minutes to arrive at the scene because their equipment was not ready. Their engines also had no capacity to carry water and they had to rely on a bowser at the farm.
Mr Mafoti was the 26th witness in the inquest where about 40 witnesses are expected to give evidence.
A police officer who gave evidence on Tuesday said the general’s body had a hole in the abdomen and emitted blue flames when it was retrieved.
VP Mujuru said: “It’s becoming clearer and clearer what happened and the inquest is proving to be the best way of handling the matter.”
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