Zimbabweans mourn top power broker
2011-08-20 16:00
Special Report
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party has pledged to trim the army and ensure a free society if it wins upcoming general elections.
Harare - Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans are attending a massive funeral for one of the nation's main power brokers, whose death in a house fire has intensified political manoeuvring in long time President Robert Mugabe's fractured party.
Mourners thronged a shine in western Harare on Saturday and swarmed over adjoining hillsides for the burial of General Solomon Mujuru, a retired military chief who gave vital political support to his wife, the vice president.
Mugabe said Mujuru died on Tuesday in an "inexplicable, horrendous fire accident".
Police and forensic investigators are investigating the fire's cause amid questions of possible arson.
Mujuru's is the biggest state funeral since independence in 1980, symbolising his influence and popularity. His gravestone says he was 66, older than the age given by biographers.
- AP
