Solomon Mujuru

"We came here early in the morning after we were told what had happened. I still thought he might have been badly burnt, it was difficult to reconcile that he actually died - burnt beyond recognition"

"Rex Nhongo, Gen Solomon Mujuru, was just a charred body - one of Zimbabwe's greatest sons"

"He was very, very respected particularly among the military in Zimbabwe and among the liberation war veterans. His liberation war credentials were pretty impeccable"

"He had to handle a lot of internal politics within the party, a lot of politics within the military and for him to be able to handle that and retain his capacity as head of the military showed that he was a tough guy"

"There's definitely going to be a lot of speculation about this, for two reasons: One is [that] his predecessor died in a car crash and also because of what's going on right now in Zimbabwean politics - the issues around the succession"