THE top forensic investigator into Rtd General Solomon Mujuru’s death in a fire came under attack from the former army commander’s family on Monday after admitting he was not 100 percent certain it was him that they buried on August 20 last year.

Mujuru died in an intense blaze in the early hours of August 16 last year, and was buried four days later at the National Heroes’ Acre.

Bethwell Takunda Mutandiro, the Director of Forensic Science in the Ministry of Home Affairs, told an inquest into the Zanu PF power broker’s death that it was “reasonable to assume” that the charred remains recovered at his Beatrice farm were his, based on available evidence at the time.

Investigators did not collect DNA from Mujuru’s daughter, Kumbirai, for matching until August 24 – four days after burial. Tests conducted in South Africa returned a 99.99% probability of paternity.

As the inquest at the Harare Magistrates’ Court entered its 10th day, the general’s young brother Joel Mujuru blasted investigators for clearing the remains for burial before identity was established.

He challenged Mutandiro: "So if the results were not known at time of burial, I then put it to you that you made me bury someone who is not my brother.

Mudiwa Mundawarara, a nephew to the late general, charged: "Why was the post mortem done so hurriedly while most of the family was still grappling with the events, and why did you allow us to bury someone you were not even sure was our relative?

Mutandiro, who was the 32nd witness to testify, calmly batted away the questions, insisting that evidence at the time was sufficient for burial to go ahead, adding that incontestable DNA results subsequently proved that investigators were right.

He maintained that all was done above board and that he kept close watch over the tissue and blood vials from Mujuru's remains, which were later sent to South Africa which has DNA technology facilities.

"It was safely reasonable to assume [at the time of burial] that the body was that of General Mujuru, especially after the many interviews from credible sources who knew he had been at the farm and supposedly retired there for the night,” Mutandiro said.

"As for why the post mortem was done on the same day, (August 16, 2011), I’m not qualified to answer that... it is outside my area of expertise".

He also defended their failure to share the results of the DNA test with Mujuru’s family until the inquest opened a fortnight ago.

"We could not divulge the results to anyone because there is a clause in our code of conduct which deals with issues of confidentiality,” he said.

"We therefore could not go ahead and speak about the results until all examinations had been completed. Upon completing the process, we would then put them in the form of an affidavit for the courts of law.”

The inquest has already heard from police and fire investigators who testified that they had failed to establish the cause of death and source of the inferno which ripped through the 14-room farmhouse.

Mutandiro said during their preliminary investigations at the scene, they found the electricity distribution box which was partially burnt.

"Tripping is a safety measure which happens only if there is an electrical fault,” he added, even as he admitted that it was impossible to establish if the tripping occurred before or after the fire.

But the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority’s Douglas Chiradza Nyakungu, who testified last week, discounted the possibility of an electric fault being the source of the fire.

Mutandiro and his forensic team also noted that the fire had been intense in the mini-lounge and bedroom. He said there was a spot in the middle of the bedroom where the fire appeared to have been most intense – which could suggest the blaze started there.

He added that from the debris, they had discovered molten glass which is physical evidence that the fire had reached over 520 degrees centigrade at one point.

They recovered three rifle barrels and two pistol frames and bullet heads on the floor in the bedroom. Their conclusion – based on findings at the scene – was that there was no residue of explosives and the cause of the fire could not be determined.

Meanwhile, the presiding magistrate Walter Chikwanha said he was deferring making a ruling on the application by family lawyer, Thakor Kewada, to bring in a pathologist from South Africa.

The coroner said according to the provisions of Section 6 (subsection 3) of the Inquest Act, he had subpoenaed all witnesses the court saw fit to bring clarity to the death inquest.

He added that amongst these experts is a local pathologist who carried out the actual post-mortem on Mujuru’s charred remains. It made sense, Chikwanha said, for the Mujuru family to hear the pathologist’s evidence before justifying seeking a second opinion.

"I will not grant nor refuse the calling of another witness but let's wait for the testimony of the pathologist who initially worked on the body, and then Kewada can still bring forward reasons for another pathologist,” the coroner said.