Zimbabwes Tsvangirai treated in Botswana after road crash

09 Mar, 2009

Doctors at private clinic in Botswana on Sunday treated Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai after the road crash in which his wife was killed while controversy swirled over the accident.
Tsvangirais party insisted it would carry out its own investigation into the collision with a truck carrying aid paid for by Britain and the United States which the British government called a "genuine accident". Botswanas Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani said Tsvangirai would get a second opinion on his condition at the private clinic in Gaborone.
A decision to fly Tsvangirai out of Zimbabwe was taken after Botswanas President Ian Khama sent Skelemani and other officials to visit him in hospital in Harare on Saturday.
Tsvangirai, who suffered neck and head injuries, was seen walking out of the Avenues Clinic in Harare on Saturday accompanied by MDC ministers.
"We went there because Tsvangirai had lost his wife. The president (Khama) sent us there to deliver condolences, and went to see him at the clinic," said Skelemani. Khama is a strong supporter of Tsvangirai and has openly criticised Zimbabwes President Robert Mugabe. Before joining a unity government with Mugabe, Tsvangirai stayed in Botswana for two months, returning on January 17 to resume power sharing talks.
"As Botswana government we grieve with Tsvangirai. He needs to know that his friends are around him and they feel for him, and that is the sort of support we are showing him," Skelemani told AFP. Tsvangirai was travelling with his wife on Friday when their car collided with a truck carrying foreign aid and rolled several times. Susan Tsvangirai, 50, died at the scene.

Read Comments