It is nearly impossible to tell what to make of the mysterious and tragic death of Susan Tsvangirai. The wife of Zimbabwe’s newly installed Prime Minister and leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party that has provided the primary political opposition to Robert Mugabe died in a car crash on Friday. The car in which Both the Prime Minister and his wife were riding collided with a US aid vehicle in what probably qualifies as a grim irony.
Suffice it to say the first thought that crossed the minds of millions, myself included, was that foul play must be involved. Over the years Robert Mugabe has earned such hard-earned cynicism.
Yet the main players are saying the right things, or at least making the right concilitory gestures. Robert Mugabe has reached out to Tsvangirai, expressing his sorrow and grief at his foe’s loss. After a brief trip to Botswana for medical treatment and rest, and presumably to mourn, Tsvangirai plans to return to Zimbabwe (his absence caused numerous rumors of a ZANU-PF plot to swirl) perhaps as early as today. Tsvangirai said today that the crash was an accident, though it can be argued that he does not seem fully convinced or convincing.
Perhaps this was a grand, epic, tragic coincidence. Or perhaps there is foul play involved. Most likely we will never know, and suspicious minds will always wonder. But it is hard to fathom the levels of coincidence at work if mere coincidence was all that was working.
The Africa Blog joins millions of Zimbabweans in mourning Susan Tsvangirai’s death and in hoping that the country can continue to move forward as a testament to her life.
