Buckets of water were poured over Gen Mujuru

SEVERAL buckets of water were poured over the body of General Solomon Mujuru to extinguish the ferocious fire that killed him at his farm last August, a witness told the court on Friday.

Mr Tawanda Madondo, a gardener at Gen Mujuru's Ruzambo Farm, during the fifth day of the inquest at the Harare Magistrates Courts was asked by Mr Tendai Mundawarara, the General's nephew, if the burning body was extinguished when water was poured.
The gardener said: "We poured a number of buckets of water for the body to be extinguished."
Earlier on, Mr Madondo, who was the 15th witness in the inquest, told the court that he did not see the General on 15 August.

"I was at home resting on August 15 last year and sometime after midnight a policeman knocked on my door and I came out.
"He told me that the general's house was on fire and wanted me to show him where his bedroom was. I pointed at the bedroom upon arrival at around 3am but we realised that the bedroom had been gutted by fire," he said. 
He asked people present if they had seen the General but they said they had not.
Mr Madondo moved round the outside of the house looking through the windows hoping to see the General.
After failing to see the body, Mr Madondo and a policeman from Beatrice Police Station switched off the power at the mains.

Asked by Mrs Sharon Fero from the Attorney General's Office if he saw Gen Mujuru's body, Mr Madondo said he saw a black object with human shape burning and water was poured on it.

Mr Tekhor Kewada, who is representing the Mujuru family, suggested to him that it was a waste of time by the police to spend an hour looking for him to show him the General's bedroom instead of using that time to break all windows.
The 16th witness, Mr Emmanuel Musona, a welder for 11 years at the Mujuru farm, said he only learnt of the General's death in the morning when he reported for duty.

A security guard with four years at the farm, Mr Ewiri Biara, also heard the news only on 16 August.
Mr Stephen Harineyi, the 18th witness and clerk at Ruzambo Farm since 1995, said Gen Mujuru had a cordial relationship with the farm workers.
He said on 16 August last year he was phoned by a security guard telling him that Gen Mujuru's house was on fire.

Mr Harineyi rushed over and police found General Mujuru's body near a door that led to the verandah. The body was on fire and had embers all over it.

Ms Sarudzai Nyakudya from the Department of State Residences, who was a receptionist, was the 19th witness.
She told the inquest she was responsible for the welfare of the Ruzambo Farm workers and did not know anything about the fire since she worked from the Mujuru's Chisipite residence.

The 20th witness, Mr Samuel Gamanya, a farm manager at neighbouring Blackstone Farm, said he met the General the day before his death.
√ɬ¢√¢‚Äö¬¨√Ǭ®Mr Gamanya was driving through Ruzambo Farm with a load of bricks and saw General Mujuru driving slowly in front of them. The General stopped and Mr Gamanya stopped his tractor. The General signalled them to overtake, but the tractor had a mechanical fault.

"I disembarked from the tractor and rushed to his (Gen Mujuru) car and greeted him before introducing myself. After introducing myself he told me to proceed," he said.
Mr Gamanya told the General about the tractor's problem and he drove off.
Asked by Mr Clemence Chimbare what he saw in the general's car, he said Gen Mujuru was alone and there was a jacket hanging in the back of the vehicle.
He heard nothing that night.

Presiding magistrate Mr Walter Chikwanha deferred the inquest to Tuesday next week after Mr Chimbare, who is assisting Ms Fero, said he had finished with the witnesses called for the day.