BEATRICE — 2011 · Suspicious Death
The Suspicious Death of General Solomon Mujuru
General Solomon Mujuru, a ZANLA guerrilla commander in the liberation war and husband of then vice-president Joice Mujuru, died in a fire at his Alamein farmhouse in Beatrice on the night of 15 August 2011. The coroner gave the cause of death as smoke inhalation. Yet farm staff said they heard gunshots about two hours before the fire, and it emerged that the police officer on duty had been asleep, the radio was broken and the fire engine had no water. A 2012 inquest upheld the finding of accidental death. His family said they had no confidence in the findings and sought to exhume his body for an independent post-mortem.
- Date
- 2011
- Place
- Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe, Beatrice, ZW
- Category
- Suspicious Death
- Case Status
- Closed
- Coordinates
- -18.2500, 30.8500 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 15 August 2011Solomon Mujuru died in the fire at Alamein farm.
- August 2011He was buried at National Heroes' Acre.
- January 2012The inquest heard the duty policeman had been asleep.
- 2012The court upheld the smoke-inhalation finding; the family objected.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Solomon Mujuru en.wikipedia.org ↗
- BBC — Zimbabwe policeman 'slept during Solomon Mujuru fire' bbc.co.uk ↗
- Mail & Guardian — Doubts raised about Mujuru's cause of death mg.co.za ↗
- Wikipedia
- BBC
- Mail & Guardian
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.