MYSTERY surrounds the death of Zanu PF Guruve South MP Edward Chindori-Chininga whose car rammed into a tree on Wednesday night at the Shinje turnoff along the Harare-Guruve Road.
REPORT BY DUMISANI SIBANDA
The accident has left villagers shell-shocked as there were virtually no screech marks or signs to show whether the politician could have tried to apply breaks to stop the car or how it “ploughed” into the homestead and hit the tree 60 metres from the main road.
Villagers who visited the site remarked that the car seemed to have “flown” before landing. It could not be understood how the MP lost control of his vehicle and moved 60 metres before ramming into the tree.
A woman who lives at a homestead a distance from the scene of the accident, Makanyarara Chinyanyi, said when she arrived at the scene Chindori-Chininga was still alive, but was alone.
“I saw him lying on the front seat and he was bleeding profusely from the forehead,” she said. “We asked a motorist to help by taking him to hospital, but he refused.
“The second one agreed to help, but when he was reversing into the yard Chindori-Chininga just gasped three times and died. We left him on the seat.”
Chinyanyi said there was an empty bottle of beer on the passenger seat.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
A woman who lives at the house next to the tuckshop where the accident occurred said: “I was asleep with my children at around 7pm when we heard some noise and rushed outside and saw that people had already gathered and the car had rammed into a tree.
“Later on the ambulance came, but didn’t take Chindori-Chininga presumably because he was already dead.”
Chindori-Chininga’s campaign manager John Chanetsa, who arrived at the scene of the crash at about 1pm yesterday, said he was shocked by the tragedy as he had been with the MP until after 5pm on Wednesday.
“I was with him from around 2pm and we were going around the area and met traditional leaders to inform them that the MP would distribute seedlings for community gardens,” he said. “He was also supposed to distribute about 6 000 chicks for a poultry project for youths and then during the weekend continue with our programme for giving each ward two bulls before primaries on Monday.”
A timeline of mysterious accidents in the history of Zimbabwe. Timeline by Tapiwa Zivira
Chanetsa said it was difficult to make out how the accident happened.
“I don’t even understand what happened,” he said. “The car was approaching a T-junction and there was no curve to negotiate. It’s still a mystery to me what happened.
“Some people are saying he had two or three other passengers in the car, but when I left him he was alone.
“As for the question of drinking beer, when he was with me he didn’t drink at all. But you see as an African you start asking yourself why the accident happened a few days before the primaries.”
Zanu PF vice-chairman for Mashonaland Central province, Kholson Munjeri, described the accident as tragic.
“It’s unbelievable because you ask yourself if the car flew from the tarred road all this distance until it rammed into the tree,” he said.
Munjeri said his party’s provincial committee was scheduled to meet later yesterday to decide on what status to recommend to the politburo for Chindori-Chininga.
The death of Chindori-Chininga follows disclosures a few weeks ago by Zimbabwe’s most followed Facebook character, Baba Jukwa that the lawmaker would meet his death.
“The Mashonaland Central mafia has done it, as l warned few weeks ago . . . l wonder why he (Chindori-Chininga) didn’t listen when l was all along warning him of the impending danger,” he wrote.
Chindori-Chininga last week released a damning report on the country’s diamond sector.
Chindori-Chininga, viewed by many as a maverick MP, was booted from Zanu PF Copac delegation for allegedly leaking information to the MDC-T, as factional fights took their toll in President Robert Mugabe’s party. Contacted for comment, Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo said: “We have not been fully briefed on what actually happened. I am in a meeting right now. I’ll get back to you after.”
Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said: “I know nothing about that accident. I don’t have any details. Even if those guys told you to contact me I can’t help you because I don’t have anything.”
