Zimbabwe PM Morgan Tsvangirai and wife 'in crash' UPDATE: Wife has died

[bigworld]

Source: BBC

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his wife Susan have been involved in a car crash which has left her badly hurt, party sources say.

Mr Tsvangirai is said to be lightly injured. The accident is said to have happened on a road south of Harare.

Mr Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, formed a unity government with President Robert Mugabe last month.

The two had been long-time rivals before agreeing a power-sharing deal.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told Reuters news agency that Mr Tsvangirai was not in a critical condition.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7929136.stm

[tekisui]

1. I don't believe that was an accident.

[That Is Quite Enough]

3. I second that opinion.

[Rebubula]

6. My first thought as well

Dirty politics is the game in that country.

[tekisui]

7. Mugabe is a war criminal.

He should be in jail for the rest of his life. I really can't believe he is still in power.

[Wabbajack_]

38. Why d id Tsvangirai enter the power sharing agreement

Obviously it's a trick.

[Jack Rabbit]

47. Can't say, but

Anything like this that happens to Tsvangirai is suspicious and any one who thinks Mugabe is above this sort of thing probably believes in the tooth fairy and the integrity and wisdom of G. W. Bush.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Reuters now says she's died

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5254DP20090306

[LeftishBrit]

5. That's just horrible..

and I too have my doubts about the 'accident'.

[tekisui]

9. Mugabe has been murdering wives of his opposition for years, now.

Tsvangirai has been arrested and beaten and has survive assassination attempts. It is hard for me to understand how one finds the will to continue.

[UpInArms]

4. ...

:(

[Jennifer C]

8. CNN reporting

It was head-on collision with a large truck.

[tekisui]

10. Wonder if we will ever find out who the driver of that truck was.

[KamaAina]

16. In the middle of a *motorcade*?!

:tinfoilhat:

[Lost in CT]

11. This is a common Mugambe tactic...

The fucker needs to go...

[democraticinsurgent]

12. Zimbabwe PM rushed to hospital after car accident

Source: CNN

HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe's new prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, has been hospitalized after his car collided with a large truck, officials with his party and his spokesman told CNN on Friday.

Morgan Tsvangirai was rushed to hospital after a car accident.

"Yes I can confirm that he was involved in a car accident along Harare-Masvingo road," said Tsvangirai's spokesman, James Maridadi.

"He has been brought to Harare and doctors are looking at him at a hospital."

Maridadi would not say how serious Tsvangirai's injuries are as a result of the head-on collision. Tsvangirai was in the car with his wife, an aide, and the driver, he said.

However, Reuters.com reported an MDC source as saying his wife, Susan, had been killed.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/03/06/zimbabwe.tsvangirai.accident/index.html

[DavidDvorkin]

13. I'm surprised he survived this long

As soon as he went home, I thought he was doomed. The doctors will probably be ordered to finish what the truck driver failed to do.

Poor man. The world needs more like him.

[smalll]

14. Sad to hear. I like to follow the Zimbabwe news now and then --

here's a GREAT website that gives all the Zimbabwe news daily, often 2 or 3 times a day:

www.zimbabwesituation.com

[Mudoria]

15. He'll be lucky if he survives his hospital stay :(

[WriteDown]

17. Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai Hurt in Car Crash, Wife Killed

Source: Fox News

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's spokesman said Friday the premier was hurt in a car accident in which his wife died, Reuters reported.

"I can confirm that Susan Tsvangirai has died following the accident," a source in his party told Reuters.

Tsvaingirai's injuries are reportedly not life-threatening.

Tsvaingirai's spokesman, James Maridadi, told Reuters an aide was also injured in the accident on the outskirts of Harare....

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506204,00.html

---

No tinfoil needed. This is NOT an accident.

[tekisui]

18. It was murder and an assassination attempt. More blood on Mugabe's

soaked hands.

[KamaAina]

20. Ruh-roh, Rorge...

:scared:

[applegrove]

22. My first thought too.

[Cant trust em]

24. This reeks of assassination.

[Critters2]

36. This was an accident like I'm the queen of England. nt

[DeepBlueC]

19. omg!!

[4lbs]

21. Let me guess, the brake lines were cut so they couldn't avoid hitting that truck?

n/t

[Posteritatis]

23. Or the truck driver just knew physics was on his side (nt)

[Critters2]

34. The truck drove into them head on. They didn't have a chance.

I'm just amazed at the courage of those who stand up to this bastard!!

[Sultana]

25. Mugab'se people killed her

Mugabe needs to be taken out by any means necessary.

RIP Mrs. Tsvangirai and get well soon Mr. Tsvangirai :(

[GCP]

26. This stinks to high heaven

God help Zimbabwe as long as that maniac Mugabe is in charge,
We used to have a DUer who was a real Mugabe apologist (AP) I think. Haven't heard from him lately, I wonder why /sarcasm.

[LostinVA]

28. I remember the poster you referenced

[LostinVA]

27. Bet Mugabe's ticked his plan to murder his rival didn't succeed

And yeah, I mean that. No sarcasm smilie.

[Critters2]

35. Yep. I wouldn't want to be the driver of that truck right about now. nt

[Warren Stupidity]

29. Probability of accident: 0.00001

[Codeine]

30. Where are all the Mugabe groupies now? nt

[Sultana]

44. in hiding

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[camera obscura]

48. There are people who LIKE Mugabe?!??!!?!!!

oy... some things I think I'd be better off not knowing.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

31. This is very tragic

My deepest and sincerest thoughts, prayers, condolences and sympathies go to the Tsvangirai family:cry:

I'd like to believe this was just a tragic accident but I must say I'm very suspicious

May Mugabe, his wife and their cronies in Zimbabwe be held accountable for their misdeeds against the nation

[David__77]

32. That's not the title of the article. Why is "in crash" in quotes in your headline?

Are you implying that they were not really involved in car crash?

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. Because that was the BBC headline when the thread was started

The BBC will use quotes in a headline to indicate a quote from someone, that they don't think has had sufficient confirmation from separate sources to take as a certainty. When they get confirmation, they then update the headline, at the same URL, to indicate the new knowledge.

[Critters2]

33. I was going to say "unbelievable", but sadly, this is all too

believable. What's unbelievable is the depth of Mugabe's evil.

[Odin2005]

37. "Accident?" I fucking doubt it.

Mugabe is as pure evil as you can get.

[oberliner]

40. Zimbabwe: Tsvangirai believes truck was 'deliberately' driven at him

But on Saturday, MDC members told CNN that Tsvangirai thought the crash was deliberate.

Tendai Biti, the MDC secretary-general, speaking during a tearful press conference, said Tsvangirai should have had better security.

"If there had been a police escort maybe what happened yesterday could have not have happened," Biti said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/03/07/zimbabwe.tsvangirai.wife.accident/

[fujiyama]

41. Hard to believe it was just an accident

[ohio2007]

42. Of course it was. Mugabe visited the prime minister in the hospital

video

Robert Mugabe visits Morgan Tsvangirai in hospital
snip

The couple were travelling near Harare when their car collided with a truck. President Robert Mugabe and his wife visited Mr Tsvangirai in hospital.

The MDC leader's party has said there is no reason to suspect foul play.

The BBC's southern Africa correspondent More.. says all Zimbabwe's roads are in a poor state of repair after years of neglect.

snip
It is thought that a lorry carrying freight crossed into the lane in which Mr Tsvangirai's 4x4 was travelling and side-swiped their vehicle, causing it to roll over three times.

.....

The crash came just two days after Mr Tsvangirai delivered his maiden speech to parliament after being sworn in as prime minister in Zimbabwe's power-sharing government.

.....

She was a great source of strength to her husband when in the past he was charged with treason and assaulted for his opposition to Mr Mugabe, and sat through all his treason trial, our correspondent says.

She also made a point of visiting MDC members who were jailed while the party was in opposition, he adds.

Her death comes at a very challenging time for the fledgling power-sharing government, our correspondent says, and will only make matters more complicated.

Mr Tsvangirai still relied on his own security teams and used his own convoys when he travelled, he adds, in a sign that he was not entirely comfortable with the security provided by the new government.


http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5ed_1236418912

guess we have it all wrong...

[JustJeking]

43. He was probably just visiting

just to keep up the appearance that it was all just an accident and nothing more. I call bullshit.

[Alexander]

45. So because he visits him in the hospital, he's innocent? Bullshit.

I guess YOU have it all wrong.

[ohio2007]

52. lol

:sarcasm:

[w4rma]

46. Assassination attempt on the PM, successful on his wife. Mugabe is desperate to pull this. (nt)

[Prometheus Bound]

49. Truck was bought with funds from US AID and was delivering AIDS drugs.

Tsvangirai’s party wants separate probe into car crash
...The SUV carrying Tsvangirai and his wife Susan was sideswiped by a truck on its way to deliver American-supplied medicines about 45 miles from Harare, American officials said on Saturday. Tsvangirai was hurt and Susan died on the spot. They were heading to the PM’s rural home for a rally when the crash occurred.

...a senior American official said: “It looks like it truly was an accident.”
“From our initial understanding, it seems the truck hit a pothole, lost control, crossed the centre line and sideswiped Morgan’s car, causing it to turn over several times,” the official said.

The truck that hit the Toyota Landcruiser carrying Tsvangirai and his wife was purchased by a contractor with funds from the US Agency for International Development and was on a regular run to deliver anti-retroviral drugs used to treat people with AIDS, the official said.

“The party will insist on an independent investigation,” said Biti. “If there had been a police escort, what happened would not have happened,” he said.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tsvangirais-party-wants-separate-probe-into-car-crash/432233/

[Prometheus Bound]

50. Britain believes Tsvangirai crash an accident

London - The British government said late Saturday it believed the automobile crash that injured Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and killed his wife Susan was indeed an accident and not a politically motivated attack as some have alleged. The truck that collided with Tsvangirai's car belonged to a British-American organization, the British foreign ministry said in London.

The evidence points to an accident, a spokeswoman said
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/258891,britain-believes-tsvangirai-crash-an-accident.html


UK: No foul play in Zimbabwe crash
Britain has said the lorry involved in a collision, which injured Zimbabwe's prime minister and killed his wife, was operating as part of a joint US-UK aid venture.

The British foreign office said on Saturday that the crash a day earlier outside of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, appeared to have been an accident and it did not suspect foul play.

"We can confirm that the truck was operated by a project jointly funded by the United States and United Kingdom," a foreign office spokeswoman said. "All indications are that this was a genuine accident."
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/03/20093721432524890.html

[Prometheus Bound]

51. Tsvangirai death crash truck driver named

Posted to the web: 07/03/2009 23:59:12
THE driver of the “killer truck” involved in the crash that claimed the life of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s wife has been named as Chinoona Mwanda, 35.

The tearful Mwanda was taken back to the scene of Friday’s crash on Saturday morning after spending the night at a police station.

Tears streaming down his eyes, the bald headed and bearded Mwanda spoke briefly to reporters, saying: “I am asking for forgiveness.”

Police sources say the driver, who faces a culpable homicide charge, was suicidal.

Mwanda was driving a truck owned by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He was carrying Aids drugs for a project co-funded by the US and British governments and run by the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council.

The privately owned Standard newspaper, quoting police sources, said Mwanda may have been trying to avoid a “killer hump” on a small strip of the Harare-Masvingo road when he sideswiped the Prime Minister’s Toyota Landcruiser, sending it into a spin.

....Police say road construction workers who were filling potholes left a mound of tarring material on the road.

“As a result of the impact of hitting the hump, which is only on one side of the road, Mwanda’s vehicle encroached onto the other lane sideswiping the Prime Minister’s car,” the Standard said.

...The Nissan UD truck Mwanda was driving was barely damaged, sustaining witness statements that the contact with the PM’s Cruiser may have been minimal.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/primeminister22.19495.html

[AnnieBW]

53. Mugabe needs to have an "accident' as well

It's long past time for him to get gone.

[Prometheus Bound]

54. Tsvangirai rules out foul play in crash that killed wife

Zimbabwean prime minister tells mourners 'It was an accident,' quelling rumours of assassination attempt.

Monday 9 March 2009

Zimbabwe's prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, moved today to rule out foul play in the car accident that killed his wife, Susan, and forced him to convalesce in neighbouring Botswana.

Tsvangirai flew into the Zimbabean capital, Harare, this morning ahead of his wife's funeral on Wednesday. His face still swollen but with no bandages visible, Tsvangirai, 56, told mourners at his home: "It was an accident. When something happens there is always speculation, but I want to say in this case, if there was any foul play, it was one in a thousand."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/09/tsvangirai-says-crash-was-accident

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/tsvangirai-rules-out-foul-play-in-wifes-fatal-accident-1641031.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/4961755/Morgan-Tsvangirai-rules-out-foul-play-in-crash-which-killed-wife.html