HARARE – A second witness on Thursday told the inquest into the death of former Zimbabwe army commander Solomon Mujuru that she heard the sound of gunfiremoments before she was alerted to a fire that destroyed a farmhouse in which his charred remains where later found.
Rosemary Short, a maid at the farmhouse, also told the inquest that Mujuru was unhappy with the policemen guarding the property and that he had wanted them replaced.
“I sort of heard two gunshots. I was asleep and I didn’t check what time I heard the sounds,” Short told the inquest, corroborating the evidence of a private guard at the property, Clemence Runhare, who also told the court he heard gunshots on the night of Mujuru’s death.
“I ignored (gunshots) and did not check what was happening because there were some occasions when the police would fire gunshots during the day or at night saying that they wanted to scare away any intruders and at times kill snakes,” Short said.
“When I went to the main house, I told police officer Obert Mark that I had heard sounds that sounded like gunshots, but he said the noise emanated from exploding asbestos and that the smell was as a result of items that were burning.”
Runhare also told the inquest on Monday that he heard two gunshots two hours before he was alerted to the burning farmhouse. The private guard said he assumed the shots to have been fired by poachers killing game at a nearby farm.
Short, who broke down as she narrated events of the fateful night, described a strained relationship between the police guards and Mujuru. According to Short, Mujuru was not happy with the conduct of the police officers who regularly fired their guns and also allegedly assaulted one of the farm workers.
She said: “The relationship between the general and these policemen was not good .... he was thinking of removing the officers from his farm because they were not working well with his workers, but because their period of guard duty at the farm was lapsing, he was a bit reluctant.”
Short confirm that a bunch of keys found in Mujuru’s bedroom was the same that the general had told her he had left in Harare when he asked her that night for her key to the kitchen door.
She said even though she had given Mujuru keys to the kitchen door, she was surprised that his car was that night parked on the verrandah side of the house. According to Short this was uncharacteristic of the general, saying form her observations working for Mujuru since 2000, he would always park the car next to the entrance he would have used.
Mujuru, who was husband to Vice President Joice Mujuru, was one of Zimbabwe’s most powerful political figures and was seen as a kingmaker in President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party.
He played a key role in Mugabe's rise to the top of ZANU (PF). Following independence, he pretty much carried on as Mugabe’s muscleman - as independent Zimbabwe’s first black army chief after serving for a short stint under General Peter Walls, Rhodesia’s last army commander.
After leaving the army in 1992, Mujuru was elected MP for his Chikomba home constituency, before leaving public life in 1995 to concentrate on his business interests, ranging from farming to diamond mining.
Even after quitting public life, Mujuru retained immense power and influence in ZANU (PF), leading a faction that has tussled with another one led by Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa for control of the former liberation movement if and when Mugabe steps down.
Mujuru died last August under mysterious circumstances in a fire at his farmhouse in Beatrice farming district, about 65 km south of Harare.
His departure from the political scene is certain to strengthen the hand of Mnangagwa, a hardliner long regarded as Mugabe’s preferred heir.
Mujuru’s death has been subject of wild speculation, especially because of Zimbabwe’s long history of mysterious deaths – albeit most of them in road accidents – of leading political figures.
The inquest continues today. -- ZimOnline
