Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said the car accident in which the prime minister was hurt and his wife was killed could have been avoided if proper security were in place, its secretary general said yesterday.
MDC Secretary-General and Finance Minister Tendai Biti said police were examining whether foul play was involved in the accident. The party will conduct its own investigation, he said.
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai should have been given proper security, Biti told reporters following a party meeting.
“If there had been a police escort, what happened would not have happened. The authorities could have avoided this omission,” he said.
Tsvangirai’s wife, Susan, was killed when a truck veered into the opposite lane on Friday and slammed into their vehicle. She was thrown out of the car, which rolled three times, and was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital.
Tsvangirai suffered head and neck wounds, but his condition was stable, Biti said.
“Mr Tsvangirai is stable, but he’s in physical pain. The physical pain is dwarfed by the loss of his wife,” he said.
The driver of the truck is in police custody. The truck belonged to a US aid agency “partner” for AIDS drug delivery, a US embassy official said yesterday.
“The truck that was involved in the crash belonged to a partner of USAID [the United States Agency for International Development]. It’s not a US government vehicle,” the official said on condition of anonymity, contradicting earlier reports that said the truck belonged to the US agency. “It belongs to a partner of USAID who deliver HIV/AIDS and other medical supplies. The vehicle is used in a project to provide antiretroviral drugs.”
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who visited his old rival in hospital, said yesterday the accident and the death of Tsvangirai’s wife was a tragic blow on a nation that was celebrating a new power-sharing government.
“We were celebrating this major development when the tragedy struck. It is very sad indeed,” Mugabe said.
Tsvangirai and Mugabe formed a power-sharing government last month after drawn-out talks to try to end a political and economic crisis.
Several world leaders offered their condolences to Tsvangirai, among them South African President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Tsvangirai, who turns 57 on Tuesday, has six children with Susan, 50. She was very popular among MDC supporters who would to chant “mother, mother” when she appeared at rallies.
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