General Solomon Mujuru died on Monday evening in an electrical fire at the Beatrice farm which he seized from commercial farmer Guy Watson-Smith. Mujuru is a former army chief, often seen as Zimbabwe's "king-maker" in the battle to succeed President Mugabe. He is said to be have died in an electrical fire that broke out at the farm in Beatrice. He died together with his girlfriend whose name was not immediately given. His estranged wife Joice was said to be at the couple's Chisipite home when the fire broke out. Air Marshall Henry Muchena confirmed that General Mujuru has died.
"It's true, Cde Rex Nhongo is no more," he said.
Zanu PF spokesman Rugare Gumbo said he was not yet aware of the death: "I haven't heard that. I don't know anything. If we get in information we will let you know." But a Zanu PF Politburo source confirmed that the General had indeed died. Another Central Committee member confirmed that Mujuru had died.
Under his nom de guerre, Rex Nhongo, Mujuru spearheaded the guerrilla forces during the 1970s war of independence, which ended white minority rule. He is also said to have played a key role in Mugabe's rise to the top of the Zanu party. Following independence, he served as army chief, rising to become one of the most celebrated army generals.
He served as Member of Parliament for the north-eastern Chikomba constituency, before leaving public life in 1995 to concentrate on his sprawling business empire. But he has always kept his senior role in the ruling Zanu-PF party, where true power resides in Zimbabwe. This could give him some say in how and when Mugabe leaves office. But towards the end, he was said to have fallen out of favour with the President, who preferred the leader of a rival faction battling to succeed him led by Emerson Mnangagwa. He was expected to be laid to rest at the National Heroes Acre with full military and State honours. The Zimbabwea.co.uk
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