Solomon Mujuru ... burnt beyond recognition. Photo: ReutersThe former military chief Solomon Mujuru, 62, was ''burnt beyond recognition'' in the blaze at his farm about 50 kilometres south-west of Harare on Tuesday morning, police said.
Under his nom de guerre, Rex Nhongo, General Mujuru was a leader of the guerilla war that swept Mr Mugabe to power and became Zimbabwe's first black military commander after independence. The general was married to Joice Mujuru, the vice-president of Zimbabwe and leader of a moderate faction in Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
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Analysts said his death will shake Zimbabwe's political kaleidoscope and rock Zanu-PF, where Joice Mujuru and other rivals are jostling for position as 87-year-old Mr Mugabe's heir apparent. This in turn could destabilise the party's power-sharing agreement with the Movement for Democratic Change.
In a country with a history of politically suspicious deaths, there was speculation over the cause of the fire at the 1400-hectare farm that had been seized from a white farmer in 2001, although there was no immediate evidence that it was anything other than an accident.
The circumstances of General Mujuru's death could fuel Zanu-PF infighting.
Eddie Cross, the policy co-ordinator general of the MDC, said: ''The suspicion of a power play is everywhere. Everybody's talking about it. If that was involved it's a huge event and could spark violence between factions of Zanu-PF. We've been saying for a long time that if there's a civil war in Zimbabwe, it won't be between Zanu-PF and the MDC, it will be between factions of Zanu-PF.''
The Mujurus were among several Zimbabwean politicians under US sanctions because of alleged human rights abuses by the government.
Guardian News & Media;
Agence France-Presse
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