News / National
Mugabe dismiss suggestions that Mujuru's death was suspicious
20 Aug 2011 at 20:22hrs | Views
Mugabe appeared to dismiss suggestions that Mujuru's death was suspicious.
"It is hard to imagine that such a glorious soldier died in such an inglorious way, so uneventfully. But this is how God willed it and we cannot do anything about it, except to grieve, to ask so many questions and finally accept his demise even though it will always hurt," Mugabe said in a statement.
There has been no suggestion either by the authorities or Mujuru's wife of foul play, but private media reports say some family members believe the general was murdered.
Mujuru was Zimbabwe's first black army commander after independence in 1980, after serving for some months under Rhodesia's last white general Peter Walls, retiring in 1992 and becoming a member of ZANU-PF's top organ, the politburo.
Political analysts say Mujuru's death could lead to some bruising battles over the succession, but may nudge Mugabe to tackle the problem.
Many analysts say Mugabe, in power for 31 years and currently his party's presidential candidate for elections expected in the next two years, is likely to have a big say on who succeeds him if and when he decides to step down.
There are unconfirmed reports that General Mujuru was pressing Mugabe to step down before the next poll.
Mugabe was forced to form a unity government with Tsvangirai's MDC after disputed elections in 2008. But their fragile coalition is haggling over democratic reforms.
At the funeral, Mugabe said Zimbabweans should defend Mujuru's contribution to freedom by pursuing economic empowerment policies, including a drive to force foreign firms to sell majority shares to blacks over the next five years.
Mujuru was known as "Rex Nhongo" during the war for independence and left government service to become a businessman and farmer. He never gave interviews and many political analysts saw him as one of the few prepared to stand up to Mr Mugabe.
"It is hard to imagine that such a glorious soldier died in such an inglorious way, so uneventfully. But this is how God willed it and we cannot do anything about it, except to grieve, to ask so many questions and finally accept his demise even though it will always hurt," Mugabe said in a statement.
There has been no suggestion either by the authorities or Mujuru's wife of foul play, but private media reports say some family members believe the general was murdered.
Mujuru was Zimbabwe's first black army commander after independence in 1980, after serving for some months under Rhodesia's last white general Peter Walls, retiring in 1992 and becoming a member of ZANU-PF's top organ, the politburo.
Political analysts say Mujuru's death could lead to some bruising battles over the succession, but may nudge Mugabe to tackle the problem.
Many analysts say Mugabe, in power for 31 years and currently his party's presidential candidate for elections expected in the next two years, is likely to have a big say on who succeeds him if and when he decides to step down.
There are unconfirmed reports that General Mujuru was pressing Mugabe to step down before the next poll.
Mugabe was forced to form a unity government with Tsvangirai's MDC after disputed elections in 2008. But their fragile coalition is haggling over democratic reforms.
At the funeral, Mugabe said Zimbabweans should defend Mujuru's contribution to freedom by pursuing economic empowerment policies, including a drive to force foreign firms to sell majority shares to blacks over the next five years.
Mujuru was known as "Rex Nhongo" during the war for independence and left government service to become a businessman and farmer. He never gave interviews and many political analysts saw him as one of the few prepared to stand up to Mr Mugabe.
Source - Reuters
