Frenzy about Zimbabwe Premier’s romance a year after the death of his first wife

The Premier's sisters in law who are at the centre of speculation that one of them has been inherited as the Premier's wife seen here with Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Germany H H Makuvise at the Premier's Strathaven home where they have been comforting the premier during the year of mourning for his late wife Susan

The Zimbabwe PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s romantic life is, not unexpectedly though increasingly, taking centre stage.

According to the majority of Shona tribes of Zimbabwe traditional customs and practice, a year after the death of a married woman or man, a ceremony termed Kurova Guva is held to cleanse the widow or widower and free them from perpetual mourning.

The ceremony usually has several objectives key among them being;
- Praying for the spirit of the deceased to return back into the family and provide spiritually protection and guidance for its orphans and widow or widower
- Final disposal of the traditional symbols of the marriage terminated by death
- Giving the widow/er the green light and freedom to look for a replacement husband/wife through inheritance and or seek new love and or
- Formalizing the appointment of the customary official stand in for deceased marriage partner who will perform all traditional roles that the late partner would have been traditionally expected to fulfill from among the qualifying remaining relatives of the deceased-Sara Pavana- or children’s guardian.

Traditionally the Sara Pavana was not expected to fulfill the intimacy role as she could be a married elder or younger sister or niece of the deceased or alternatively he could be an elder brother or cousin of the deceased prohibited to inherit –Kugara Nhaka in respect of the act where a widower accepts a replacement husband or Kumutsa Mapfihwa in the case where the husband accepts a replacement wife.

Where either of the surviving spouses opted for the replacement husband or wife from among the blood relatives of the departed spouse the need for the appointment of a Children’s traditional guardian was invalidated as the relative coming into the marriage naturally filled the gap.

It was only where either of the surviving spouses opted out of the inheritance option or where in laws refused and or failed to provide a substitute wife from among their unmarried siblings that it was considered necessary to appoint the guardian and thereby impliedly give consent for the surviving spouse to seek new love and romance elsewhere provided the new love had no rights whatsoever to perform traditional rituals for the orphans of the initial marriage which would be preserved for the Sara Pavana or Traditionally appointed guardian.

The reports that Prime Minister Tsvangirai has now accepted his late wife’s sister Leah Mhundwa as the replacement wife are misleading in the absence of evidence that the Kumutsa Mapfihwa- literally translated to mean revival of the late Susan Tsvangirai’s kitchen and wife responsibilities towards the Premier- are misplaced and traditionally at variance with the norm.

What is evident is that the Kurova Guva ritual for the late Susan Tsvangirai was either performed and most likely Leah Mhundwa was seconded to him as the Sara Pavana (Guardian) because the Premier did not accept any of his late wife’s available relatives as substitutes for his late wife.

The other misconception arising from the report is that now because she has been given to Morgan Tsvangirai as a replacement for the late Susan, Leah is now expected to move into the Premier’s Strathaven home and extend conjugal rights to the Premier at the same time she accompanies Tsvangirai to official state events and look after the Premier’s six children with the late Susan.

The truth of the matter is that ever since the death of the late Susan her sisters have been taking turns to live with and comfort the Premier throughout his 1 year mourning period and they have been accompanying him to any official function he wanted them to be present and by his side.

There is nothing in customary law that prevented them from tending to the Premier and even giving him some romantic moments without indulging in intimate sex with him prior to the cleansing ceremony of Kurova Guva.

If there were any intimate intentions between the Premier and any of his sisters in law that comforted him through the year of morning for his late wife, now he is free to officially express them and if any of the sisters in law accept his advances, she could well end up being his official second wife if the Mhundwas accept his proposal to officially marry any of them.

Edwin, Garikai, Vimbai, Rumbidzai and twins Milcent and Vincent the Premier’s children, are all in their teens and early adulthood and will have no major problems with a romance between their father and one of their aunts whom, in true Shona tradition, they have always regarded as their mother even when their maternal mother was still alive.

Should the Premier however choose to start a new romance with anyone else not related to the Mhundwa’s or disliked by his grown up children, there could be friction in the family yet still one girl from the Mhundwa family will remain the official traditional guardian for the children with special responsibilities to perform those roles Susan would have performed for them if she was still alive.

Whatever speculation there is about the course of the Premier’s romantic life, henceforth the nation must always be prepared to see one or more of the Mhundwa girls by his side.

Tsvangirai crash: More questions than answers

Professor Jonathan Moyo former Zanu PF Minister of Information and Publicity: Does he know something we all don't?

By Professor Jonathan Moyo, MP
THE truism that people learn geology the day after an earthquake best explains why there is a growing list of troubling questions about probable criminal involvement of the American and British governments or their agents in the car accident that tragically claimed the life of the wife of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week.

Among the questions that cannot be fully or satisfactorily answered without an independent and competent international probe are the following:

l Who really owns the Nissan diesel truck, with registration number 81TCE128, which caused the tragic accident on March 6, 2009?

l If the registered owner of the truck is not the American Embassy in Harare or the United States Agency for International Development why does the truck have a registration number whose diplomatic configuration is reserved for the United States Embassy?

l If the truck is registered to a foreign organisation, other than the United States Embassy or Usaid, with neither presence nor legal standing in Zimbabwe, when and how was the registration effected, by whom and under what authority?

l Whose money was used to purchase the truck?

l Who employed the driver of the truck, when was he employed, and what is the source of his salary, that is, where is the money that he is paid actually funded from?

l Was there another truck that drove immediately behind the accident truck at the time of the accident? If there was, whose truck was that in terms of both registration and ownership, who drove it and why has there been between little or no mention of that truck and its possible role or about the possible involvement of its driver in the tragic accident?

l Without any prejudice, how did the driver come to be represented by Atherstone and Cook Legal Practitioners? Who instructed these lawyers to represent the driver, when was the instruction made, and who is paying the lawyers for the driver’s legal representation?

l Why did the British Foreign Office in London issue an official statement so soon after accident describing the tragedy as a "genuine accident"? What was genuine about the accident and why was the statement issued with self-evident haste?

l Who are, or what is, Crown Agents? Where is this entity based? What are its connections or relationships with the accident truck and/or its driver? What other activities does this entity do in Zimbabwe, with whom, for what purposes, since when and under what legal auspices?

l Following the tragic accident, why or on what basis did the American-based and owned news network, CNN, run continuous and inflammatory bulletins on the accident claiming that it was a result of foul play by Zanu-PF or by Zimbabwean State organs? Why or on what basis did those bulletins which ran from March 6 to March 10 boldly allege that Prime Minister Tsvangirai had told an unnamed MDC official that "the accident was deliberate"? Which alleged MDC official gave this information to CNN?

l Why did the State Department in Washington or the United States Embassy in Harare or Usaid itself not correct or comment on the CNN bulletins that openly and daringly put the blame for the tragic accident on Zimbabwean State organs or Zanu-PF without basing that blame on any evidence other than a suspicion allegedly based on the history of tragic car accidents in Zimbabwe involving some prominent personalities?

l Is it a mere coincidence, or is there more than what meets the eye about the fact, that a few months ago a Usaid driver was implicated in the attempted assassination of Air Marshal Perrance Shiri and now another Usaid driver is involved in a murky accident that left Prime Minister Tsvangirai with neck and head injuries while claiming the life of his wife?

l Exactly what sort of activities has Usaid been doing or supporting in Zimbabwe and since when? Who else in or outside Zimbabwe has been part of those activities? What has been the purpose of those activities, how have they been financed, what has been their total bill and are American taxpayers aware of those activities and their true cost?

l What joint activities or programs are the American and British governments involved in Zimbabwe whether through Usaid and DfID (the Department for International Development in Britain)

The above 14 questions are by no means exhaustive but they are indicative of some of the dark issues that Zimbabweans and others around the world, especially taxpayers in the United States and Britain, would like to have clarified about the tragic accident that took away the life of the wife of our Prime Minister and nearly plunged our country into the abyss. These issues can only be objectively clarified by a competent international probe that should be set up as soon as possible. Any delays would risk a major international cover-up which might very well be already underway.

It is important for the British and American governments and their local and international media and NGO supporters who never see, hear or speak any evil on matters British or American, to understand that this is not trivia pursuit or rabble-rousing. As a national legislator, I believe this is a fundamental international issue about the peace and security of Zimbabweans and their national leadership as well as about the need to protect the laws of the country within the context of international law.

Based on the facts of this case, and keeping in mind the experiences of countries like Cuba, Chile, Venezuela, Iran or Kwame Nkrumah’s Ghana among many others, there is more than enough to suggest that the activities of the British and American governments in Zimbabwe today have become too daring, too entrenched and too dangerous to be left alone.

Following publication of an online story on Monday by NewZimbabwe.com which carried some concerns I expressed about probable criminal involvement of American and British governments or their agents in the tragic accident, I received a telephone call from a senior official in the United States Embassy, Glen Warren, who was apparently too keen to bring to my attention what he said was the fact that the driver of the accident truck was not an employee of Usaid. Furthermore, he told me that the American government was sure that there was no foul play behind the tragic accident based on what the embassy had been told in interviews they had held with a second truck driver whom he said had been driving behind the accident truck and had thus witnessed the accident. Warren also said the embassy had gotten more information from what he said was thorough briefing from the Prime Minister himself.

I then asked Warren why in that case the American government had not followed the example of its British counterparts to issue a statement clearly stating that the accident was genuine. To my surprise, he said the US government would not issue a statement unless and until there was an unequivocal statement from MDC-T indicating that the accident was just that.

This prompted me to ask Warren whether the US government was hiding behind or even fuelling the CNN bulletins that were continuously peddling innuendoes and even claiming outright that an alleged MDC official had told the news network that Prime Minister Tsvangirai believed the accident was deliberate with fingers pointing at Zanu-PF foul play. Warren’s suspicious response which can only be believed by an alien from Mars was that CNN is a private news organisation entitled to its own opinions which have nothing to do with the US government.

Significantly though, Warren did not at any point in our telephone conversation which lasted for about 10 or so minutes deny that the truck belonged to Usaid not least because its registration spoke for itself. I have since found it not just shocking but also totally unacceptable that a day after Warren called me to say the accident truck was theirs but not the driver, the American Embassy issued a statement disowning both the ownership of the truck and the employment of its driver.

In any event, while agents of the American government seem to think that they can keep changing their story about the ownership of the accident truck and the employment of its driver and still remain credible when available facts tell a contrary story, the crucial part of the story in this sad saga which will be difficult if not impossible to change is the money trail.

Whose money was used to buy and register the accident truck? Whose money was used to recruit the accident driver and pay his salary? Whose money contracted Crown Agents? Indeed, whose money is paying the legal costs of the accident driver who is being represented by Atherstone and Cook?

And parenthetically, is there anybody out there including at CNN who really believes that Atherstone and Cook — and Chris Mhike in particular who — would countenance being the defence attorneys of record if the accident truck and accident driver had anything, even remotely, to do with Zanu-PF or organs of the State like the CIO, police or Zimbabwe Defence Forces? Who is fooling who here?

During the unravelling of the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, the legendary FBI agent known as "Deep Throat" famously advised the two Washington Post journalists who investigated the scandal, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, to "follow the money". Since then, following the money has become the stuff of seasoned and competent international investigators.

There’s a clear and present need to follow the money trail behind the tragic accident that claimed the life of Amai Susan Tsvangirai, and which almost shook the foundations of the inclusive Government upon which Zimbabweans across the political divide have pinned their hopes for the country’s economic and political turnaround.

It is common cause that the British and American governments have not supported the inclusive Government and that some in these governments believe Tsvangirai sold out by signing the September 15, 2008 agreement and joining the inclusive Government as Prime Minister.

This clearly means that the American and British governments, or some of their agents dealing with Zimbabwe, have the motive, incentives and means to derail the inclusive Government through foul play. This can only be formally concluded one way or the other through an international commission of enquiry led by Sadc and the African Union, the two bodies that are the guarantors of the inter-party agreement that produced Zimbabwe’s current inclusive Government. The sooner that commission of enquiry is established, the better for everyone concerned.

40 000 at burial of Premier's wife

12th March 2009
MDC Pressroom

About 40 000 thousand people from all the corners of the country and the world yesterday converged at Humanikwa Village in Buhera to bury Amai Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai, the wife of MDC President and the Prime Minister Hon. Morgan Tsvangirai.

Amai Tsvangirai, 51, died last Friday after she was...involved in a car accident along the Harare – Masvingo highway on her way to the family’s rural home in Buhera.

Among the thousands of mourners who attended the rally were; the Deputy Prime Minister Professor Hon. Arthur Mutambara, Swazi Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku, Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Buhera’s traditional chief, Chief Makumbe. Also present at the funeral were South Africa’s Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe and Botswana Minister of Communication, Science and Technology Mrs Pelonomi Moitoi.

Ministers from Zambia and Malawi also came to Buhera to pay their last respects on behalf of their governments, further confirming that Amai Tsvangirai’s love and humility had spread beyond the country’s borders.

People from all walks of life were at Humanikwa Village to bury Amai Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai - the mother of our struggle for peaceful and democratic change in Zimbabwe.

She had fought for years for true democracy in Zimbabwe.

Giving a keynote address at the burial MDC Vice President and Vice Prime Minister, Hon. Thokozani Khupe said everyone was touched by the death of Amai Tsvangirai.

“We are all hurt by the death of Amai Tsvangirai as she united everyone both in the Tsvangirai family and the MDC,” she said.

"For Prime Minister Tsvangirai to run the party and perform his Government duties there was a manager behind him. She was a nation builder and the person who was always behind the Prime Minister.

"We want to move the country forward and we want Prime Minister Tsvangirai to be well again so that he leads the MDC in developing the country," said Hon Khupe.

Hon. Khupe said the burial of Amai Tsvangirai was not a funeral but a celebration of her life.

“This is not a funeral but a celebration. We are celebrating the vision of a mother. We are saddened by the death of Amai Tsvangirai but we do not regret,” she said.

Amai Tsvangirai stood by her husband during his trial on trumped up charges of treason, four assassination attempts and the 11 March 2007 police beatings including many other forms of harassment and assaults.

Hon. Khupe’s sentiments were echoed by Professor Mutambara who said Amai Tsvangirai’s death should unite the nation.

"We are mourning a mother for Zanu-PF, a mother for MDC and a mother for my small MDC. The death of Mrs Tsvangirai should unite the people of Zimbabwe," he said.

Professor Mutambara said Amai Tsvangirai deserved to be declared a national heroine.

“If Amai Tsvangirai is not a national heroine, then who is?” he quipped.

In his vote of thanks, MDC secretary-general and Finance Minister Hon Tendai Biti thanked the region and the world for standing by the Tsvangirai family and the MDC during their hour of grief.

He said ANC President Jacob Zuma had offered sanctuary to Hon Tsvangirai and his family to withdraw from public life for a few days to enable them to recover from their grief.

Amai Tsvangirai leaves behind a husband, six children and two grandchildren.

And here is the rest of it.

Political Nzveura for Professors Moyo, Mutambara and Dr Gono

Premier Morgan Tsvangirai and deceased wife Susan Pic courtesy Sokwanele
In my village the role of raising spirits through satire and mimicking of the deceased at a funeral is reserved for the Clan in-laws and close friends of the deceased family.

I also happen to know this to be standard custom and practice in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Humanikwa village in Buhera.

The women married to the Tsvangirai Clan would collect tithes (nzveura) from close and extended members of the Tsvangirai family by mimicking the dressing, talking, life time actions and mannerisms of the late Susan Tsvangirai.

They would dress up in the deceased’s favourite clothes, sing her favourite songs usually with a lot of discord, tie filthy... objects on close family members’ wrists. necks and heads and anywhere only to remove the objects on being paid the tithes.

It is such spectacles that makes people at the funeral vigil laugh and forget their sorrowful moment for a while.

But then Susan’s funeral was always going to be a State funeral whether or not the State was going to declare it as such officially.

The array of politicians that thronged the vigil to post condolences and yes use the sad occasion as a cheap publicity occasion was always going to upstage traditional in-laws tithe collecting gimmicks if at all they were possible to be noticed by such crowds as attended the Premiers wife’s funeral vigil.

National comedians had to emerge to fill the void and they did.


Professor Mutambara called a press conference to announce that the government, in which he is the deputy Premier but not culpable in this instance, was to blame for the death of Susan Tsvangirai.

At a time when speculation was and is still rife that the accident that took Susan’s life was the work of the disgruntled opponents of the elevation of her husband to the position of Premier, such an admission by as high ranking a government official as the Deputy Premier was bound to make waves in the audience.

The Deputy Premier disclosed why he had come to that conclusion.
 The State had denied the Premier and his wife usage of high clearance vehicles.
 The State had negligently failed to provide the Premier with a coloured light Police escort wailer to warn other traffic of the presence of the VIP on the road.
 He had also been denied similar privilege to use a high clearance vehicle by the State.

“That is a travesty of justice in this country.” “Having that is a small price to pay in Zimbabwe,” he said

The rationale behind the Deputy Premier’s conclusion that the accident could have been averted by him being personally issued with a high clearance vehicle to visit Chipinge the previous week is intriguing for any sober mind.

Even the assertion that the fatality could have been averted if the PM was allowed usage of two and not just one high clearance vehicle is equally irrational.

From the evidence so far disclosed it would appear that the fatality was caused because the PM’s high clearance vehicle side swiped with a heavier truck that encroached into the lane it was travelling in and rolled over three times.

This would have been the result if the PM was travelling in a two or more high clearance motorcade. The vehicle he would have been in would most obviously be the one where his wife would be. Alternatively if they had by some premonition decided to use the separate vehicles the one that swiped with the truck would have suffered the same fate except that maybe the other would have escaped unhurt.

That is only if we rule out that the vehicles could have been travelling in close proximity and swiped one after the other.

Clearly there was something that caused only Susan to die from an accident where three occupants survived. Could it be that her seat belts were not buckled up at the point of impact?

There is merit in that line of speculation because evidence so far tends to point to the fact that she was the only one thrown out of the vehicle as it rolled over and the other three were pulled out of the wreckage.

The most compelling reason he gave is the absence of a flashing Police Escort. Whether or not that was denied the PM is debatable. If it was the case that the flashing Police escort was denied the PM on request such denial could only have been sanctioned by the President and for now it is difficult to see on what basis he could have done so unless he was part of the accident plot.

Further investigation into this omission would go a long way into dispelling fears that the accident that robbed us of Susan’s life was an assassination attempt on the Premier and his wife.

The rest we believe was bridesmaid Mutambara collecting political nzveura (tithes) from the MDC-T and Zanu PF marriage in the inclusive government in which MDC-M is the sahwira (close friend).

While at it we can understand why the Professor was booed when he tried to address the Susan Tsvangirai mourners at Glamis Stadium.

The MDC has a cultural fibre running through it and its grassroots do not take kindly to those that pretend to be on its side for the convenience of cheap political publicity.

Professor Mutambara has on many occasions shown them the replication of Mugabe and Zanu PF intolerance of their bereaved leader and has derailed many benefits that could have accrued to the nation by leading factionalism in the party.

He could not seriously expect to be welcomed by the followers of the bereaved PM.

After worming himself into government he has been absolutely quiet about coalition strategies and has even intervened to scuttle Abednego Bhebhe’s appointment as a Minister in a gesture of friendship from Tsvangirai.

MDC supporters do not take kindly to politicians who shed crocodile tears when circumstances suit them.

We must investigate USAID because they have said the accident was an accident when in the past they have said other accidents are foul play by Zanu PF- Prof Moyo

Professor Jonathan Moyo wants United States Agency for International Development (USAID) investigated over the car crash that killed the Premier’s wife.

This because another USAID driver, Frank Muchirahondo, was recently charged with attempting to assassinate the Commander of Zimbabwe’s Air Force, Air Marshal Perence Shiri in a gun attack.

The PM’s wife was killed on 6 March 2008 when the Land cruiser she was travelling in swiped with a USAID truck driven by Chinoona Mwanda.


Killer USAID Truck driven by Mwanda

“The fact that the British Foreign Office, followed by the Americans, was quick to issue a statement saying this was a genuine accident invites serious curiosity which can only be removed after an international investigation.

“Nobody should think that all Zimbabweans are foolish to think that a genuine accident is one that does not implicate Zanu PF. Indeed, it would utterly be ludicrous for anyone to believe that car accidents in Zimbabwe are genuine only if or when they involve USAID vehicles or drivers with British interests.

“Given the physical facts surrounding it, suspects in this tragic accident can only be those who have vigorously opposed the unity of Zimbabweans and who have responded to the formation of an inclusive government by extending their evil sanctions,” concluded Prof Moyo.

This is yet another case of a political bridesmaid in the woods trying to exploit political nzveura (tithes) from the coalition government over the Premiers tragedy which is an emotional national tragedy.

An accident investigation must of necessity start with the roadworthiness of the vehicles and drivers involved.

Next the road conditions and the environmental factors must be examined to see if they had any part in causing the mishap.

After eliminating these and finding no clues it may then be necessary to explore macro factors that could have caused the accident and in this case the volatile political environment must be thoroughly examined and exonerated of any part in the accident.

The motive to eliminate the Premier has been ever present in the deposed Junta yet Prof Moyo wants to sell the ruse that the owners of an aid truck in far away USA have a more compelling motive than the deposed Junta.

This is absurd.
How can a vehicle owner be investigated ahead of the driver of a killer vehicle. Should the MDC be investigated for availing the land cruiser to the PM then?
Dr Gideon Gono has been at the centre of discord in the coalition government. His contract was unilaterally extended by President Mugabe after he had agreed to leave the ministry of finance to the management of an MDC Minister in the coalition Government.

The irony of it is that Dr Gono and the President’s wife share the same rural origins with the Premier.

There has been no love lost between the homeboys and girls trying to outsmart each other politically and the PM’s family has been harassed by agents of his home mates in Zanu PF.

Dr Gono and Grace Mugabe cannot be easily exonerated from such harassment.

Now that the PM’s wife has been tragically killed they are at the forefront of posting condolences. The PM’s real friends are confused by all this hypocrisy.

It was not surprising that the Reserve Bank governor was forced to beat a hasty retreat when he attempted to curry favours with the Premier by presenting himself as a funeral wake vigilante at the Premier’s wife funeral vigil.

The worthless paper money he has spent the past four years printing day and night became the best weapon to pelt him with to force him back to the now defunct printing press.

He deserved that. It is similar to the insult nzveura collectors are subjected to by the bereaved in my village.

President consoles Tsvangirai

Published by the Governent of Zimbabwe

Sunday Mail Reporter

PRESIDENT MUGABE has sent a condolence message to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai following the death of his wife, Mrs Susan Tsvangirai, in a car crash on Friday evening.

Cde Mugabe yesterday described Mrs Tsvangirai’s death as tragic and untimely, adding that the whole nation was now anxiously praying for the Prime Minister’s quick recovery.

"On behalf of the party Zanu-PF, the Government, my wife and family and on my personal behalf, I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to the Prime Minister and president of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Mr Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, on the untimely death yesterday of his dear and beloved wife Susan, in a traffic accident.

"This is a tragedy that has befallen our nation at a moment of great hope and expectation flowing from the formation of the inclusive Government of which Mr Tsvangirai is Prime Minister.

"We were all celebrating this major development when the tragedy struck. It is a very sad occurrence indeed. As I condole with the Prime Minister, I am acutely aware that he himself is nursing injuries from the same accident.

"The whole nation anxiously prays for his recovery which we all hope will be swift and complete.

"My heart goes out to the Prime Minister’s family, especially to the children who now have to face the future without the love and care of so dear a mother. May her soul rest in eternal peace," said Cde Mugabe.

Mr Tsvangirai’s Toyota Land-Cruiser vehicle was hit by a Nissan truck belonging to an American aid agency, Usaid, 86km from Harare on the Masvingo Road.

The Prime Minister was taken to the Avenues Clinic in Harare where his condition was described as stable. The couple was on its way to its rural home in Buhera where the Prime Minister was scheduled to address a rally at Murambinda in celebration of his appointment as Prime Minister.

Obituary: My brief encounter with Susan Tsvangirai

The late Susan Tsvangirai and Husband Morgan in happier times

On a hot sunny day on 28 March 2008, Ian Makone hosted the final Presidential election rally that was addressed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. I could not afford to miss the momentous occasion for whatever.

My battered Japanese second hand Nissan HB 12 was.
giving problems but together with my cousin we managed to do a quick fix job on it and we were off to Goromonzi.

There were two police roadblocks manned by menacing looking young police officers. On the first we were waved through because they were busy with a van full people wearing Zanu PF regalia.

We thought we were lost because they were heading in the same direction as we were yet the rally was supposed to be an MDC rally.

At the Mverechena shops was another roadblock and a crowd of Zanu PF supporters. We were waved down and thoroughly checked for weapons. Nothing was found but the police would not let us proceed and we wondered why.

As we sat there thinking what it was they were up to one sergeant came to my window and asked where were going. I told him we were proceeding to Chikwaka. He looked at me and said;

“I know you are afraid to tell me you are proceeding to the MDC rally at the next shops but that is none of my business here. Why are your tyres worn out?”

He was right about the first deduction but the tyres hell no. They were brand new. So I tried to evade the first issue by addressing his final question.

“Maybe someone stole my tyres last night and replaced them with worn out ones I retorted sarcastically?” The officer got the sense of humour and reluctantly released a wry smile.

“If you can afford brand new tyres these days you should be well off.”

“Not at all officer, the owner of the car who is in South Africa is the one who is well off. I am just his driver and local agent,” I responded realising the officer was after a bribe which I was not prepared to pay.

“That smooth face can’t be the face of a mere driver. You are the ones in good living not us.”

“No officer I protested, we are living in destitution these days. Only that some of us have learned to avoid being stressed by circumstances beyond our control and we try hard to ignore the stressful demands on our lives. That is why I am trying to put a smile on your face so that you do not look stressed by the job in this heat?” He lets a small laughter and waves me on. Got him.

A few minutes down the road streams of women and children in MDC regalia are on the side roads and paths leading to the venue. We wave the open palm at them and they respond enthusiastically.

We get to the venue and I go straight into the nearest bottle store where a crackling stereo is belting out noisy sungura sounds and the revellers are doing their own thing on the small dance floor in front of the counter.

There is no electricity but this bottle store has a generator. My camcorder’s battery is too low and I was hoping I would charge it up before the rally since at home we had gone without power for two days. Tough luck.

President Tsvangirai had been delayed so i asked if the barman could charge my camera. He hesitated and I offered two scuds for the favour before he could say no. It did the trick.

While the camera was charging we killed time drinking quarts of castle and watching the gyrating dancers. A sudden surge of people towards the podium tent hinted that the Presidential team had arrived and we mingled our way to a vantage point where we could take photos from.

The camcorder had not recharged and my camera was also running out of power. It had to be mobile videos and pictures or nothing. Seated in the tent was the array of MDC nominees to contest the various segments of the harmonised election.

My good friend Ellard is among them and so is Ian Makone and his wife Theresa now Minister of Public Works. Between Ian Makone and his wife are two chairs for the President and his wife.

I negotiate my way to the high table and greet Ian. He has no recollection of who I was and I like it. I greet his wife and she does not recall me either. So I tell to stop being so proud now that she is on home turf and remind her of her recent UK visit with Chairman Lovemore Moyo.

She nearly jumps out of her chair to hug me. The hubby is worried and before he says anything I fire a salvo at him. “As for you Mr Makone don’t think this is an insurance company’s board meeting.”

That does it as he recalls who I am and he extends a warm handshake but too late, the president has arrived and he is being ushered to his seat next to Mr Makone.

Hand in hand with this graceful motherly woman he pulls her chair and after she has sat next to Theresa he greets Makone and the High table occupants. His escort does the same and the crowd is in frenzy.

The Chinja Maitiro slogan has been panel beaten and modified with interesting variations as Nelson Chamisa leads the crowd into chanting them. Tsvangirai is introduced to the supporters and he delivers his last campaign message which captures that the MDC will win the election and the people must be ready to defend their votes.

After the moving oration he calls all the contestants to the centre and introduces them to the people as the team that will carry the MDC emblem to victory.

Then from nowhere there is the shrill for Amai Amai.

The affable Tsvangirai who had been made to remove his cowboy hat went across to the high table and gestured the woman left seated there to come and join the dignitaries on parade.

There is wild whistling and clapping of hands. She takes centre stage and leads the sloganeering in acknowledging the party supporters.

“Maitiro!” she shouts to an electric response of “Chinja!” from the crowd. “Gwendo huno!” she shouts and the crowd responds “Hazvikoni!” “Nekuti?” she asks. “Ndezvashe!” responds the crowd.

“Natenda tonosangana ku State House,” she concludes and holds her husband’s hand gesturing him to usher her back into her seat.

He obliges with the mischief of a boy meeting his first lover.

Beautiful and lovely.

Oh I can’t hold back my tears to think that God has ended this lovely partnership in the tragic manner he did on 6 March 2009.

I can’t carry on.

Zimbabwe Premier Morgan Tsvangirai injured in car crash that killed his wife Susan

God fearing Susan and Morgan Tsangirai in pre-inaugration church service recently

The wife of Zimbabwe Prime Minister and MDC President, Morgan Tsvangirai, was killed in a head-on car crash near Harare today.

Mr Tsvangirai was injured but not critically in the crash that killed Susan.
The Prime Minister's car collided with a lorry. He was taken to the Avenues Clinic in the capital. The Premier’s driver of his car was seriously hurt.

There was no word on the condition of the lorry driver.
Susan was seated behind the driver of their personal Toyota Land Cruiser when a haulage truck encroached onto their lane. Their driver swerved and the truck crushed the right hand side of the vehicle, behind the driver forcing it to veer off the road and roll three times.

Susan survived the initial impact and when she was pulled out of the vehicle she was talking, but clearly in great pain. She then lost consciousness on the way to Harare’s Avenues Clinic, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Initial reports suggest she might have broken her back and suffered multiple leg fractures.

The collision happened when the couple were travelling to Buhera, Tsvangirai’s rural home area where he was due to address a rally on Saturday. The MDC’s secretary-general, Tendai Biti, was one of the party’s senior officials who visited the scene of the accident.

A policeman who attended the scene said that Tsvangirai sustained head injuries but was looking lucid and talking to rescuers who pulled them out of the truck. Tsvangirai was bleeding from head wounds, while the driver and their aide suffered minor injuries.

At the Avenues clinic, Tsvangirai had X-rays which showed that he had minor head injuries. He has suffered whiplash and the full extent of his injuries is being assessed.

The tragic accident has brought an abrupt end to Susan and Morgan Tsvangirai’s marriage of 31 years which was blessed with six children.

MDC UK & Ireland's entire executive and members of MDC based in the UK has extended its heartfelt condolences to Party President Morgan Tsvangirai.

The MDC UK & Ireland has announced that it will hold a Prayer Service in Sheffield at the same venue that it had booked for its Assembly of Women Function.

The Rev Mutyarutya Chisvo, who solemnised the 31 year marriage between Morgan and Susan, will lead the service at;
Dalton Parish Hall
Doncaster Road
Sheffield
S65 4HH, from 3pm. MDC members are encouraged to arrive early to ensure proceedings stay on time.

Zimsentinel extents its profound sorrow and heartfelt condolences to the Prime Minister and his six children as well as the entire leadership and grassroots supporters of the MDC during these trying moments in life.

May her soul rest in peace.

Only God Almighty knows why he has visited this harsh misfortune to the Premier already suffocating under the pressure of ensuring millions threatened with the Humanitarian catastrophe in the country can be saved.