The Financial Gazette

Tinashe Madava, Staff Reporter

VICE-PRESIDENT Joice Mujuru’s family is still in the dark over the outcome of an inquest into the mysterious death of the late Retired General Solomon Mujuru, husband to Zimbabwe’s first woman Vice-President, The Financial Gazette heard this week.
The inquest into the death of the retired army general closed on Monday last week amid shocking and confusing disclosures from witnesses.
While it could not be immediately ascertained if the coroner — Walter Chikwanha, the magistrate who presided over the inquest — had submitted his findings to the Attorney-General (AG)’s Office, lawyers representing the Mujuru family were still to be informed of the actual date of the release of the findings.
While the Inquests Act is silent on the timeframe this process should take, it makes it clear that the magistrate should submit his or her findings to the government’s chief lawyer.
The AG’s Office is considered as the main legal advisor to the government. The AG, in this case Johannes Tomana, is also an ex-officio member of the Cabinet.
Essentially, the Inquests Act does not compel the AG’s Office to make the findings public. This, however, has raised fears that the AG could sequester the magistrate’s report for months if not years thereby prolonging the anxiety gripping the nation.
Chikwanha has to pore over all the bulky statements from 39 witnesses and piles of reports submitted by the police, the Harare Fire Brigade and the pathologist over the three-week period before making a determination.
Thakor Kewada, the Mujuru family lawyer, said this week he was constantly in touch with the AG’s Office over the issue, as he was eager to determine his next course of action.
Kewada also revealed that the Vice-President’s family was eagerly awaiting any developments from the AG’s Office.
“We are keeping tabs with the AG’s Office, but we have not heard anything yet. We will wait for the AG to inform us,” he said.
The uncertainty over what would happen after the AG receives the magistrate’s findings has added to the suspense for both the Mujuru family and the majority of Zimbabweans who are eager to know what happened to the country’s most decorated liberation war fighter.
Legal experts are agreed that the Vice-President’s family can only wait for the magistrate’s findings before considering their options.
“They should wait until the judgment is delivered by the magistrate who sat as coroner in the matter. It is premature for them to do anything before the magistrate delivers his judgment. The magistrate has to take into account all evidence submitted to him as coroner,” said lawyer, Aston Musunga.
Musunga explained that if the magistrate rules that there was foul play, the police would have to be called in to investigate.
Another lawyer, Ringisai Mapondera, concurred with Musunga saying the magistrate may also order for expert opinion to clarify issues that he might not be clear with.
“But from media reports, it is clear there are a lot of unexplained issues regarding what might have happened,” noted Mapondera.
The late Mujuru died in August last year in a fire at his farm in Beatrice under yet-to-be-determined circumstances.
Varying testimonies were made during the inquest. Mujuru’s maid, for example, reported hearing gunshots well before the fire broke out.
Private security guards who were stationed about 300 metres from the house also thought that they had heard shots, but could not be sure.
The policemen guarding Mujuru’s farm house from about 20 metres away claimed to have either been asleep or to have heard nothing.
Whereas the security guard manning the entrance to the farmhouse told the court that the late general had been accompanied by another man in the front passenger seat, police officers who were stationed at the farm differed: They told the court that Mujuru was alone, but added that there was a jacket hanging in the car.
During the three-week inquest, it emerged that the police had mishandled crucial evidence, using a contaminated plastic shopping bag to bundle up the remains of Mujuru’s carbonised body.
His security guards were unprepared for the fire, lacking even radio equipment to call for help, the commission was also told.
The fire department too was tardy in responding. The truck that eventually arrived was useless, as it had a leak in its water tank and showed up empty.
Police pathologist, Gabriel Alvero, even admitted he was uncertain the corpse he examined was that of the general, as he lacked equipment and access.