Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has visited his rival Morgan Tsvangirai in hospital, after a car crash which injured the Prime Minister and killed his wife. Tsvangirai suffered head and neck injuries in the accident, which happened on a poorly-maintained road outside the capital Harare. A lorry hit Tsvangirai’s car, causing it to somersault off the road.

Tsvangirai and his wife Susan had been married for 31 years. They had six children, and she was a source of strength as he traded political blows with the Mugabe regime. Initial fears of foul play were discounted by Tsvangirai’s party, the crash being blamed on Zimbabwe’s increasingly dangerous roads. The tragedy comes as Tsvangirai struggles to rebuild Zimbabwe’s shattered economy, and conquer a cholera epidemic which has killed four thousand people and infected nearly 90,000 more.

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