REWARD Marufu, elder brother to First Lady Grace Mugabe, died on Wednesday at his farm near Bindura in Mashonaland Central.
Marufu, 55, had been ill for a while, although there was no official word on the nature of his ailment.
Family spokesperson Ambassador Joey Bimha said Marufu died at his Leopards Farm, about 20 kilometres out of Bindura.
Marufu’s death comes barely a month after the death of President Mugabe’s sister, Sabina, died. She was declared a national heroine and buried at the National Heroes’ Acre.
President Mugabe’s other sister, Bridgette, is reportedly ill and is admitted at Parirenyatwa Hospital.
Unconfirmed reports from Bindura say Zanu PF is mulling conferring Marufu with provincial hero status in recognition of “his contribution to the liberation struggle”.
Mugabe on Wednesday travelled to the Marufu farm to console his in-laws.
He described the late as “a quiet man who loved his family and sisters.”
The President said he first met Marufu during the war of liberation and got to know him better when he fell in love with and later married his sister. Reward Marufu was working in the President’s office at the time.
Marufu caused outrage in the 1990s when he claimed huge sums of money from the War Victims Compensation Fund after claiming 95 percent disability from war injuries.
In 1999, Marufu, a former ZANLA combatant, was recalled home from a diplomatic posting in Canada after the Canadian police raided his home over charges of severely assaulting his daughter.
He is survived by his wife Debra and six children.
(reporting News Day)