Police rule out foul play in the fire that killed a 12 year MDC-T boy

POLICE have ruled out foul play in the fire death of a 12-year-old Headlands boy which has stoked political tensions in the country with the MDC-T accused of turning the tragedy into an election campaign event.

Zanu-PF has denied any involvement in the attack as police revealed that preliminary investigations had ruled out the possibility of foul play.

"At the moment we cannot point fingers at anyone. This emanates from our preliminary investigations so far which indicate that no foul play had taken place," deputy national police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka said.

"Basing on our preliminary investigations there is no pointer or clue to suggest that the incident was politically motivated.

"Right now investigations are in full swing. We have embarked on thorough investigations because we need to get to the bottom of the incident by all means."

Information Minister Webster Shamu said the Cabinet had ordered the police to establish the cause of the tragedy.

"The nation may wish to know that Cabinet has directed the Co- Ministers of Home Affairs to institute thorough investigations through the relevant arms so that the nation gets full facts surrounding the incident and for justice to be done," he said.

"Our society is founded on the principle of sanctity of life and any actions that are shown to undermine this sacred principle will attract the full weight of the law."

Zimbabwe will later this year hold elections to end the uneasy coalition between Mugabe and Tsvangirai and both leaders have repeatedly appealed to supporters to ensure there was no repeat of the violence experienced in 2008.