Mugabe says death of PM's wife was act of God, but doubts remain

Published on Tuesday 10 March 2009 20:48

THE chant echoed around the stadium: "Why? Why? Why?"

Thousands of supporters of Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's new prime minister, yesterday voiced their anger and disbelief at his wife Susan's death.

At a funeral service in the morning, President Robert Mugabe had begged mourners to accept that Mrs Tsvangirai's death in a car crash was "an act of God".

Mr Tsvangirai, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, has said the chance of foul play being involved in last Friday's accident is "one in a thousand". But many of his supporters are far from convinced.

Mrs Tsvangirai, 50, died when a lorry carrying Aids drugs slammed into the 4x4 she and her husband were travelling in on the way to a rally.

In a show of support that would have been unthinkable just six weeks ago, ministers from Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party joined about 1,000 mourners crammed into a small white Methodist chapel in the middle-income Mabelreign suburb of the capital Harare.

Armed police took up positions around the chapel as Mr Mugabe arrived with his wife, Grace, to deliver a keynote address for the wife of a man he used to call a "teaboy" and a puppet of the former colonial power, Britain .

"We are sincerely saddened by the death of Susan and we hope that Morgan will remain strong," Mr Mugabe, 85, said.

Despite the unprecedented show of unity, anger simmered below the surface. "Grace said Susan would never get into State House and look, now she won't," whispered an MDC official in the congregation.