africanpress.in

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's wife, Susan, was killed Friday in a car wreck that also left him injured, according to senior officials with his party.

Tsvangirai and his wife Susan were en route to the prime minister's hometown of Buhera.

President Robert Mugabe visited Tsvangirai -- his long-time political rival -- at a Harare hospital, according to a reporter at the scene.

Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, took office last month under a power-sharing deal with Mugabe following a contentious election.

Tsvangirai's aide and driver also were injured in the head-on collision with a large truck, according to Tsvangirai's spokesman, James Maridadi.

All four were taken to the hospital but the conditions of the driver and aide were not immediately known.

State media reported Tsvangirai suffered head and neck injuries but his Movement for Democratic Change party has not confirmed that.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa told CNN he spoke to Tsvangirai at the hospital and he was in a "relatively stable" condition. He added: "We are still trying to examine the extent of the impact of this tragedy in terms of human life."

Chamisa would neither confirm nor deny reports from other MDC officials that Susan Tsvangirai died in the wreck, which he described as "very serious."

The collision happened on the Harare-Masvingo Road as Tsvangirai and his wife headed to his hometown of Buhera, south of the capital, Harare, his spokesman said.

The MDC reached a power-sharing agreement with Mugabe in September after months of angry dispute that included violence.

More than 200 deaths, mainly those of opposition supporters, were reported leading up to and in the aftermath of the election.

And the political atmosphere remains acrimonious after the MDC's choice to be deputy agriculture minister was arrested.

One analyst who studies the region said the circumstances behind the crash could "exacerbate" the fragile unity government.

"There will undoubtedly be suspicions about the cause of the crash and whether there was foul play involved," according to Jennifer Cooke, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"At a time when there needs to be confidence-building measures, this incident potentially raises suspicions and undermines the potential for greater cohesion of the government. (There is) huge potential for the agreement to be manipulated by Mugabe."

Chamisa said it was too early to determine if foul play may have been behind Friday's wreck, which he called an accident.

Cooke described Susan Tsvangirai as "an example of the quiet fortitude of the Zimbabwean people throughout the duration of the country's crisis and collapse."

"She stood by her husband for over 30 years," Cooke said. "She's watched him be beaten and imprisoned. Now at this somewhat hopeful moment where her husband has been sworn in as prime minister, it's unfortunate she doesn't ultimately get to see an end to the crisis."

Tsvangirai and Susan, who were married in 1978, have six children, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Last month, she told a BBC affiliate that the past decade had been an "endurance test" for her husband and his MDC colleagues.

"People went through hell, but they stuck to their ideals to seek change through democratic means," she said. "This was a struggle that we endured with MDC cadres, activists, supporters and peace-loving Zimbabweans.

"To them I say thank you so much for the support they gave the MDC to reach this momentous period."

Tsvangirai's wife dies in a car accident - The PM injured