FORENSIC investigations have found no evidence that explosives or inflammable liquids were used in the house-fire death of former army chief, Retired General Solomon Mujuru, state attorneys said Monday.
Mujuru, the husband of Vice President Joice Mujuru, was burned beyond recognition in a bedroom fire at his farmhouse outside Harare in August last year. And, for the first time at a state funeral, the general’s coffin was sealed and mourners could not participate in the traditional viewing of the remains.
Police have already finished their investigation, but then took the rare step of requesting a court inquest into his death after some, including his wife, queried how he could have failed to escape through the farmhouse's low-level windows.
Opening the inquest in Harare, state attorney Clemence Chimbari said DNA tests had proved the remains were Mujuru’s. Other samples from the scene were tested by forensic experts in South Africa.
Joice Mujuru and two of her daughters attended the hearing. She has also hired private attorneys to question witnesses called by the state and to examine forensic reports.
Mujuru’s death intensified infighting in Zanu PF, where the general was a powerful figure who used his military, political and business connections to back his wife’s fight to succeed President Robert Mugabe.
Soon after Mujuru’s death at age 66, Joice Mujuru told mourners she could not understand why the former army commander and veteran guerrilla leader did not escape from the fire which left parts of the house and some furniture intact.
The farmhouse of brick and stone has a fire-resistant roof and large windows and exit doors.
Chimbari said the state power utility will testify that an electrical fault did not cause the fire.
First reports said a candle may have tilted over accidentally during a power outage, a common event in Zimbabwe.
But the intensity of the blaze that virtually cremated the general’s body led to accusations that gasoline, chemicals or explosive devices may have been used.
A security guard at the property, Clement Runhare, said Monday he heard what sounded like gunfire two hours before he was alerted that a fire had broken out. He said he thought poachers nearby were responsible.
He said the general drove through the entrance gate to the farm with a passenger in his car who he could not identify.
No other human remains were found after farm workers and neighbors converged on the house to try and put out the flames.
He said a police protection detail did not have mobile phones to call the fire department and their police radio was broken.
On his way home to the farm 60 kilometers southwest of Harare on August 15, Mujuru stopped at a local hotel bar and drank at least two double whiskies, hotel patron Tongai Chimuka told presiding magistrate Walter Chikwanha.
Widely known as a heavy drinker, the general was “in a jovial mood and was not drunk,” Chimuka said.
"He was not drunk," barmaid Portia Kamvura added. "He left around 7:00 pm saying he did not want to drink much as he had a journey to make the following morning."
Fellow Beatrice farmer, Blessing Madzivire said there had been a power outage on the day Mujuru died, and that the general was sober when Madzivire last saw him.
More than 40 witnesses have been summoned to testify at the hearing expected to last at least a week and rule later on whether Mujuru’s death was accidental.
Family lawyer Thakor Kewada complained that prosecutors had withheld witnesses' affidavits from him and that he had learnt about some of the evidence during the court enquiry.
"We are not fighting the prosecution and hopefully they are not fighting us. It's important to the honourable vice president to know what happened to the late general as well as the family to know what happened," he said.
Mujuru, also known by his war name Rex Nhongo, was widely seen as a kingmaker in Zanu PF and was respected across Zimbabwe's political divide.
The general's brother Joel Mujuru said last year that he believed the death was a murder.
Mujuru also had major business interests, including diamond mining. He remained an influential member of the ruling Zanu PF, in a context of rivalries and tensions after the violent and inconclusive presidential elections in 2008.
Hailed as a national hero, Mujuru used his influence among freedom fighters to persuade his peers to accept Mugabe as their leader in 1976, according to his colleagues from the liberation struggle.
He was seen as the only one in the current crop of politicians who could speak his mind and criticise Mugabe to his face.
He was linked to the "softer" faction of the Zanu PF party, headed by his wife.