SW Radio Africa (London)
Lance Guma
16 March 2009
The company who own the truck involved in the crash which killed Susan Tsvangirai, has suspended one of its administrators, after it turned out the vehicle was not driven by one of their drivers.
The truck was carrying AIDS drugs for a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
A report by the weekly Standard newspaper says John Snow International (JSI) is the contractor for this AIDS project and they issued a confidential memo 3 days after the accident, stating that although the truck belonged to them it was not driven by a JSI driver on the day. The new revelation will no doubt raise further questions over whether the crash which claimed the life of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's wife, was an accident or an assassination attempt on his life.
According to the newspaper the JSI memo says; 'As you may have heard, there was a tragic car accident on Friday (March 6) in Zimbabwe in which the Prime Minister (Morgan Tsvangirai) was injured and his wife was killed. The vehicle involved in this accident was registered to USAid/Deliver (a JSI Project) although not driven by a JSI driver, as far as we know. At this point, further details about the accident are unknown. Understandably, this tragedy has generated a lot of media interest. If you receive any inquiries from the media, we ask that you please direct them to Penelope Riseborough, WEI/JSI Director of Communication in Boston.'
The focus has now shifted to how the suspended administrator, a woman in charge of the delivery trucks and known only as N. Dube, could have dispatched the vehicle without a JSI driver. She is now the centre of an internal investigation by the company. A source who spoke to the Standard newspaper said; 'The administrator has been quizzed on how the truck was released laden with SCMC (Supply Chain Management System) drugs but with an unofficial driver. If it was coming from delivery in Masvingo it should have been empty,' they said. So far JSI have said; 'We cannot at this time make any comment on the detail of the accident but we are co-operating fully with the authorities to ensure the investigation is open and transparent.'
Last week the United States Embassy in Harare issued a statement clarifying the ownership of the truck saying it 'was purchased with USAID funds by a contractor and belonged to the contractor.' Many in the ZANU PF regime, including independent MP Jonathan Moyo, immediately seized on the opportunity to demand 'an international investigation into the activities of USAID in Zimbabwe'.
USAID have provided US$260 million for emergency programs since October 2007, in addition to food, health care, safe water, and HIV/AIDS programs. It would seem highly unlikely that they would have an interest in eliminating the one man people hope will lead Zimbabwe out of the many crises created by ZANU PF.
Tsvangirai himself has insisted the crash was an accident, but his assurances have not stopped the speculation.
Newsreel last week spoke to the Chris Mhike, the lawyer of the driver of the truck. He said his client hit a hump and lost control of the truck before hitting Tsvangirai's Land Cruiser. But our correspondent Simon Muchemwa, who has since visited the scene of the crash, insists there are no humps on that stretch of road. His comments are corroborated by Deputy Mines Minister and MDC legislator Murisi Zwizwayi, who also visited the crash scene, and who also said there are no potholes or humps. 'It's just a clear road,' he remarked.
At Mrs. Tsvangirai's funeral last week some of the songs sang by the mourners blamed Mugabe and his party for the crash. In the absence of a thorough investigation, questions will continue to be raised.
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rm my buddy...spot on...the administrator has been sacked for not getting it right and failing to finish off morgan...they had paid the dude handsomely...to the extent mugabe made a "special" visit to the hospital just to make sure the reports were true that morgan had escaped with a few scratches only. Probably about the only time an "arranged accident" has failed dismally. God was on Morgan's side I guess...
Hello Turnex good you are here. I found out that in Zimbabwe bullbars on trucks are mounted pretty often. After second thoughts I think they took a truck with a bullbar already mounted to avoid suspicion. The woman codriver in the truck most probably had a cellphone to give the signal for the right moment/car. Police took cellphones from bystanders after the crash I read in the newspaper. Probably with the purpose to wipe out traces about who called who before the crash.
Rmkooistra; Turnex,
Your conversation is childish and stupid and is only suitable for and found in a bush where children will be playing with mud, grass and leaves, imitating their parents.
You know as much as I do that the vehicle in question is a CIA truck, was being driven by a CIA driver and had been dispatched by a CIA employee. How then can anyone with an adult brain drag President Mugabe into a CIA/MI5 plot to eliminate Tsvangirai for joining the GNU against their advice? Notice the concerted effort to distance them selves from the crime they committed… [Read Full Text]
taku...I quite like the concept of being a CIA agent and it is one of the nicest jobs I have ever been accused of holding...the glamour and intrigue of the job knows no bounds! However my CIA training kicks in and starts to smell a rat when you say the driver should be given 24hr govt protection in case CIA agents are sent to kill him...are you not in fact laying the groundwork for this poor sod to suffer his own exclusive arranged accident too..courtesy of course of the zanupf accident arrangement dept.
So let me get this straight.....
1) There were freshly installed bullbars on the truck 2) The truck should have been empty, but was full 3) The driver wasnt hired by the company, but was a 'replacement' 4) There werent any bumps on the road as the driver suggested. 5) The first person at the scene was arrested and his video recordings confiscated. 6) Many of Mugabe's political oponents have had road 'accidents'. 7) Mugabe was 'humiliated' by Tsvangirai into joining the GNU
You would be stupid to think there isnt something fishy going on here.
Irresponsible speculation will continue to pick up steam, grow legs on legs, until the Prime Minister sues the company that owns the truck for the death of his wife under the legal doctrine of wrongful death.
By the way, South West Rubbish, songs do not sources, not to mention facts, make.
Only an action in law can get to bottom of the "incident." At this point, the collision cannot be categorized as an accident, absent an action in law. If it was an accident, then fault should be determined and damages awarded to the estate of the Prime… [Read Full Text]
Takunya you are right that Turnex is a very influencial person though. Recently I was in Rome and I saw Turnex standing next to the pope on the balcony. I was standing in a huge crowd of Italians at St Peterssquare. An Italian bloke standing before me turned his face and asked me: "Hey who is this guy standing next to Turnex?"
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So the truck was still loaded with equipment where it should have been empty. With extra weight the truck can give a stronger "punch" to another vehicule. I know more cars have bullbars in Zimbabwe. But on a truck? Was the bullbar mounted only recently?