Zimbabwe Politician Amos Midzi Dies Of Poisoning, Autopsy Reveals; Family Blames Ruling Zanu-PF

An autopsy on the body of Amos Midzi revealed Wednesday that the Zimbabwean politician died of poisoning, according to local media reports. Police found Midzi dead in his locked car Tuesday at his farm in Beatrice village along with a bottle of highly toxic methamidophos and sleeping tablets, which raised fears the former cabinet minister and ambassador to the United States had committed suicide.

Police also found a cup containing a “bluish liquid” in Midzi’s grey Ford Everest. There were no signs of physical injuries on Midzi’s body. A post-mortem concluded the cause of death was “market pulmonary edema due to poisoning.” Further samples were taken for toxicology tests, police chief spokesperson Charity Charamba said in a statement Wednesday night, according to Zimbabwean state-run newspaper the Herald.

The former Harare provincial chairman for the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) is set to be buried Saturday at Glen Forest Memorial Park in the capital city of Harare. Midzi’s family blamed the ruling party for his sudden death. Zanu-PF has held majority power in Zimbabwe since the southern African nation’s independence in 1980. Midzi, who was a fierce ally of ousted Zimbabwean Vice President Joice Mujuru, was removed from his position last month and handed a five-year suspension after he and two other legislators were accused of promoting rape and corruption in the party.

“Our brother was betrayed by a system that he had worked for, for all of his life, which treated him unfairly, until this moment that led to the tragic outcome,” Midzi’s brother and family spokesman Stanley Midzi told VOA Zimbabwe Wednesday.

Midzi was appointed ambassador to the United Sates in 1993 before becoming a member of the Zanu-PF Politburo, a 49-member body that formulates and decides policy for the political party. He was the ruling party’s candidate for mayor of Harare in 2002, but was defeated by opposition candidate Elias Mudzuri of the Movement for Democratic Change. Midzi was later appointed Minister of Energy and Power Development, and subsequently Minister of Mines and Mining Development.