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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Tsvangirai says crash an accident | Tsvangirai says crash an accident |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said the car crash that killed his wife Susan was an accident. | Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said the car crash that killed his wife Susan was an accident. |
| Mr Tsvangirai said there was only a "one in a thousand" chance that the incident involved any foul play. | Mr Tsvangirai said there was only a "one in a thousand" chance that the incident involved any foul play. |
| He was speaking as the lorry driver involved in the collision was granted bail after appearing in court charged with culpable homicide. | |
| Mr Tsvangirai has returned to Zimbabwe to prepare his wife's funeral after undergoing treatment in Botswana. | Mr Tsvangirai has returned to Zimbabwe to prepare his wife's funeral after undergoing treatment in Botswana. |
| "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," Mr Tsvangirai was quoted as telling mourners outside his home in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. I want to thank God for giving me 31 years with my wife Morgan TsvangiraiZimbabwean prime minister Rumours fly after Tsvangirai crash | |
| Wearing dark glasses and with his face still swollen, he said: "It was an accident and unfortunately it took her [Susan's] life." | Wearing dark glasses and with his face still swollen, he said: "It was an accident and unfortunately it took her [Susan's] life." |
| Many Zimbabweans are suspicious about Mrs Tsvangirai's death, because of past acrimony between Mr Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe. | Many Zimbabweans are suspicious about Mrs Tsvangirai's death, because of past acrimony between Mr Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe. |
| Police have said a lorry carrying aid crossed into the lane in which the prime minister's 4x4 was travelling on Friday and side-swiped the vehicle, causing it to roll over three times. | Police have said a lorry carrying aid crossed into the lane in which the prime minister's 4x4 was travelling on Friday and side-swiped the vehicle, causing it to roll over three times. |
| 'Trials and tribulations' | 'Trials and tribulations' |
| Lorry driver Chinoona Mwanda, 35, appeared on Monday at a magistrates court in the town of Chivu in the province of Mashonaland East, about 200km (124 miles) south-east of Harare. | |
| His lawyer earlier said Mr Mwanda would deny a charge of culpable homicide as he blamed the collision on the poor state of the road. | |
| But the truck driver was not asked to plead at Monday's hearing. Mr Mwanda was granted bail of $100 (£72) and ordered to hand in his travel documents ahead of his next court appearance on 23 March. | |
| Morgan and Susan Tsvangirai had six children together | |
| In Harare, thousands of people from the townships have been walking long distances to the prime minister's home in Strathaven, a western suburb of the capital, to pay their respects to Mrs Tsvangirai. | In Harare, thousands of people from the townships have been walking long distances to the prime minister's home in Strathaven, a western suburb of the capital, to pay their respects to Mrs Tsvangirai. |
| Mr Tsvangirai said he had returned to Harare to resume work because that was what his wife would have wanted. | Mr Tsvangirai said he had returned to Harare to resume work because that was what his wife would have wanted. |
| "I want to thank God for giving me 31 years with my wife," he said. | |
| "We know that we shall all die, but let's celebrate the life of Susan because we have gone through trials and tribulations together," he said. | "We know that we shall all die, but let's celebrate the life of Susan because we have gone through trials and tribulations together," he said. |
| Zimbabwean journalist Brian Hungwe says a rally is to be held at Glamis Stadium in Harare on Tuesday to pay tribute to Mrs Tsvangirai on the eve of her burial. | Zimbabwean journalist Brian Hungwe says a rally is to be held at Glamis Stadium in Harare on Tuesday to pay tribute to Mrs Tsvangirai on the eve of her burial. |
| President Mugabe and his wife Grace visited the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader's bedside on Friday evening at a private clinic in Harare. | |
| Mr Tsvangirai, who had previously spent time in Botswana while in opposition, flew there on Saturday for medical tests and rest. | |
| MDC officials had said they saw nothing to suggest foul play, but that they want to carry out their own investigation of the collision. | MDC officials had said they saw nothing to suggest foul play, but that they want to carry out their own investigation of the collision. |
| The British foreign ministry said the truck was part of an aid project jointly funded by the US and UK and that the crash appeared to be "a genuine accident". | The British foreign ministry said the truck was part of an aid project jointly funded by the US and UK and that the crash appeared to be "a genuine accident". |
| The collision came two days after Mr Tsvangirai delivered his maiden speech to parliament following his swearing in as premier in a power-sharing government. | |
| But relations between the MDC and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party remain tense, with MDC ministerial nominee Roy Bennett still in custody, accused of links to an alleged plot to kill Mr Mugabe. | But relations between the MDC and Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party remain tense, with MDC ministerial nominee Roy Bennett still in custody, accused of links to an alleged plot to kill Mr Mugabe. |