VICE President Joice Mujuru fought back tears after visiting her Ruzambu farm in Beatrice where her husband died in a fire in the early hours of Tuesday.
“What has happened here is difficult to fathom. What is in there is unbelievable. Only God knows,” Mujuru told reporters moments before the badly-charred remains of General Solomon Mujuru were removed shortly after 11AM.
Visiting the farm were State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, CIO director general Happyton Bonyongwe, ZDF commander General Constantine Chiwenga and several ministers including Kembo Mohadi [Home Affairs], Saviour Kasukuwere [Youth] and Webster Shamu [Information].
Hours later, the Vice President wept as she met President Robert Mugabe at One Commando army barracks in Harare where the general’s remains were taken to.
Mugabe, who paid a glowing tribute to the former army commander, urged Mujuru and daughter, Nyasha, to “derive some comfort from the great deeds of the late departed hero, which earned him profound respect and a special place in the history of Zimbabwe.”
"I have never seen a person die in such a horrific manner, we are all shocked," said President Mugabe added.
Police and forensic experts were combing through the ashes to establish the cause of the fire. Police sources said particular attention was being paid to candles which were being used at the property due to a power cut.
At the Mujuru family home in Chisipite, several government officials joined the Vice President in mourning.
Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khuphe and First Lady Grace Mugabe gave the Vice President an embrace in emotion-tinged scenes. Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono also arrived to pay his condolences.
Tributes poured in for the tragic general, described by Mugabe as “very influential in the organisation of the [liberation] struggle”.
Dumiso Dabengwa, a former Home Affairs Minister who commanded ZIPRA forces in the south during the liberation war while General Mujuru commanded ZANLA in the north, said his death was a tragedy.
"He played a major role in the liberation war and he never feared criticising the party [Zanu PF]."
Dabengwa, jailed without trial by Mugabe for four years after independence, said Mujuru played no part in the Gukurahundi massacres targeting Joshua Nkomo’s supporters in the Matabeleland provinces in the 1980's.
"We discussed it when I came out of prison. He had walked away from it at the time,” Dabengwa said.
“He and I tried to see Mugabe before the last elections to persuade him not to stand. We wanted to tell Mugabe he could never win, but he would not see us."
Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai outpolled Mugabe in the first round of the 2008 presidential poll but without the necessary majority to form a government. A run-off election was discredited after Mugabe’s supporters began killing opposition activists leading to a compromise power sharing government.
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Comrades ... President Mugabe meeting the Mujurus in April this year
No chance ... A police officer walks past blown-out windows at the farmhouse on Tuesday
General Mujuru is believed to have arrived home at around 8PM on Tuesday night after enjoying a drink in the nearby Beatrice hotel.
Detectives fear the drink may have caused him to sleep through the early stages of the fire, and by the time he woke up he would have been disoriented by the smoke inhalation making it difficult to escape the fire.
A maid at the farm, Rosemary Shoti, said General Mujuru had asked for kitchen keys on arrival which she gave to him.
“We woke up at around 3AM to the sound of exploding asbestos sheets and I came out to investigate only to find the house engulfed in fire,” she said.
“We phoned Beatrice police station and the Fire Brigade, but when they arrived, it was too late. We also tried to put it out using buckets of water from a bowser together with his security personnel, but to no avail.”
The general's body, said to have been "burnt beyond recognition" by State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, was found close to a door.
Police investigators who swarmed the farm would be keen to find out from police officers guarding the property how the fire spread through the 18-room house undetected, taking the life of the country’s most decorated former soldier.
Workers at the farm described Mujuru as a fatherly figure who was dedicated to farming.
“Mujuru was like a father to us. He had even allocated three hectares of land to each of us. This year he had planned to double his tobacco output,” said Isdore Makusha, who manages tobacco production on the farm.