Tsvangirai Mourns His Wife

Movement for Democratic Change officials were trying to damp down suspicion that the accident could have been a botched assassination attempt on their new prime minister, sworn in less than a month ago as part of a power-sharing agreement with President Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF party.

"The nation is in pain, the nation is in shock. We have all lost a mother," said Nelson Chamisa, an MDC spokesperson. He said speculation over the cause of the accident was unhelpful.

Deon Theron, a cattle farmer, said he had been called and asked to go to the scene to check the Toyota's brakes and steering. It had not been tampered with, he said, adding that he had taken photographs until the police officers on the scene confiscated his camera. He said the tar road had recently been poorly repaired.