ZIMBABWEAN PRIME minister Morgan Tsvangirai has suffered a second family tragedy in a month with the death of his three-year-old grandson in a swimming pool accident weeks after his wife was killed in a car crash.
His grandson, Sean, was staying at Mr Tsvangirai’s house in Strathaven, a suburb of Harare, when he was found drowned in the family pool on Saturday. “The boy had wandered off and was found later in the pool of the house,” said James Maridadi, Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesman.
Sean was the son of Garikai Tsvangirai. The family, who live in Canada, were in Zimbabwe for the funeral of Garikai’s mother, Susan, who died in a car accident in March. Garikai Tsvangirai and his wife, Lilian, were due to return to Canada yesterday. Sean is to be buried next to his grandmother in her home village of Buhera.
The prime minister and leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, who had only recently returned to work after being injured in the car crash, cut short a government retreat in Victoria Falls to return to the capital.
The meeting was designed to set priorities for the government’s economic recovery plan. Mr Tsvangirai is expected to take a key role in fashioning a new constitution, implementing a land audit, attempting to stop land invasions and organising fresh elections within the next 18 months.
The toddler's death will raise new concerns over Mr Tsvangirai's preparedness to push through reforms so soon after the loss of his wife. – ( Guardianservice)