A MAID has told the ongoing inquest into the death of General Solomon Mujuru that the former army chief considered sleeping in his vehicle on the night he was killed by a fire that gutted his Beatrice farm house.

Rosemary Short was the 11th witness to give evidence to the inquest which opened on Monday.

She testified that she had finished work early on that August 15 night but was alerted to the presence of a vehicle parked outside her house in the workers' compound, located some 3km away from the main farmhouse.

"I saw the vehicle and it belonged to Gen Mujuru. He told me he had forgotten his keys in Harare and asked for the ones I used," she said.

Short said Mujuru told her he was thinking of sleeping in the car, something the General often did, especially when he was drunk.

But contrary to evidence given by some of the witnesses, the maid insisted Mujuru was not drunk and appeared to be in control.

Short said she returned to bed after Mujuru left the compound only to be roused around 2:45AM by a phone call from her brother, Petros Jaison, who works as a general hand at the farm. Jaison told her the main house was on fire.

She broke down as she recounted telling Vice President Joice Mujuru about the fire over the phone, reducing to tears other members of the family who included Mujuru's elder brother, Joel, and sister, Elizabeth Marowa.

A legal officer from the Attorney General's Office suggested adjourning the hearing to allow Short to compose herself but she insisted she was well enough to continue with her evidence.

Short said the Vice President asked her to rush to the farmhouse to see what was happening, but she was beaten back by the intensity of the blaze.

"When I arrived at the farmhouse, I realised that the house had been utterly destroyed and the policemen told me that they could not locate the General," she said.

She also asked a police constable, Obert Mark – who has since given evidence to the inquest – why they did not break down the windows to the bedroom to rescue Mujuru.

The officer told her they did not know which room was Gen Mujuru's bedroom, adding they had also been unable to call for help because they did not have air time on their mobile phones.

The inquest opened on Monday with the Mujuru family keen for answers amid speculation the General – an influential powerbroker in Zanu PF – may have been murdered.