Forensic and fire experts have rejected a Harare municipal fire brigade official, Clever Mafoti, who on Thursday told the Solomon Mujuru death Inquest claiming that the blue flames on the retired general Solomon Mujuru’s body were normal.
Speaking to ZimEye a forensic expert with the British Fire service ruled out the claim that a blue flame was possible in domestic fires.
“It is not possible for a fire to be blue in colour unless some special substance is used,” the officer who would not be named said.
Have you ever seen a blue flame on beef meat in a braai?
His comments were backed by London based Bio-physicist, Martin Chinyanga who told ZimEye:
“The fire expert is lying. The spectrum of light reflects the type of temperatures they are. Have you ever cooked beef meat in a braai stand and seen a blue flame on it?”
Chinyanga said that there must needs have been thick substances such as plastics rapping the General’s body, but these would have to have necessarily been Mujuru’s clothing.
“But even in that case,” said Chinyanga.
“there is no way that type of fire would burn human flesh down to ash form, unless there is a strong element such as Copper or Arsenic, ” said Chinyanga who also stated that the Fire Brigade’s claim that evidence was destroyed by people who visited the scene is nonsensical.
“Fires more than a hundred years old later can be traced”
“Even after years, you can still utilise methods such as carbon dating to determine how an accident of that nature occured,” said Chinyanga.
Even where evidence has been destroyed, the pattern of the fire does not disappear, he said.
The state run broadcast media claimed that there is now an explanation for the blue flame given by the ‘fire expert’ which though has been described by two police officers as ‘strange’ since also it was difficult to put the fire out and the fire actually became ferocious when water was applied to extinguish it.
The ZBC reported:
Mr Clever Mafoti the fire expert and 26th witness took to the stand and was questioned by Mr. Joel Mujuru about the probable reason why the charred remains largely believed to be those of his late brother Retired General Mujuru were found in the mini lounge away from the main bedroom.
In his expert opinion, Mr Mafoti indicated that logically when a fire breaks out, a person within a house is bound to seek an escape route, depending on whether he is awake, but the intensity of the fire and flammable material in the room may cause the emission of toxic fumes which could incapacitate the person before he would have reached an exit point.
Mr Mafoti also explained the cause of a blue flame saying, the flame can occur in a fire accident involving a human being if the temperature of the fire is above 500 degrees which will consume the fluids, flesh and fat, creating what he called a triangle of combustion which is a combination of air, combustible materials and heat. He added that the combination of the three results in a spontaneous blue flame.
But independent experts and analysts argue that the colour of any flame is automatically reflective of what kind of fire it is and exactly what caused it.
“Because each element has an exactly defined line emission spectrum, scientists are able to identify them by the color of flame they produce. For example, copper (and Arsenic) produce a blue flame, lithium and strontium a red flame, calcium an orange flame, sodium a yellow flame, and barium a green flame,” 
read one expert advice on the Web Exhibits website: (ZimEye, Zimbabwe)
34 Replies to “Mujuru-Fireman lying about blue flames – Experts”
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Zanupf has never opened a fair honest democratic discussion platform hence most people have been brainwashed by its propaganda .organised topical discussion forums are supressed, history has been distorted. In 1980 zanupf destroyed valuable zapu information archieves what a shame
And let me remind you that there were only 115 dissidents out of thousands of Zpra combatants who remained in the army. I for one remained in the army until I retired. There are many others who are still serving. People like you think that all Zpras are Ndebele. How wrong you are. Think of Ambrose Mutinhiri, Chenjerai Hundzvi, P V Sibanda and many others. How can someone send six thousand men to go and fight a hundred dissidents? Thats why they butchered 20,000 civilians. Zanu yakakukuvadza pfungwa mfana.
You are terribly wrong about everything Chando. It is obvious to me that you a victim of Zanu propaganda and that you are not a Zanla combatant. Ask the true Zanla combatants (not mjibas) who really know the truth. You are also wrong about why Rex left Zpra. History (his story) is just propaganda of the winner in this case Zanu. We have seen how Zanu have tried to glorify themselves by claiming things that they did not do. Hence the reason why they confisticated and destroyed all Zpra records. But you are right that Zanla spent their time on pungwes exposing helpless civilians two brutal attacks by Rhodesian forces while Zpra did the fighting. You are not aware that the whole of Mashonaland including Mugabe’s home area was liberated by Zpra. Zanla spent most of their time along the Mozambican boarder afraid to penetrate deep into the country. Don’t talk about things you don’t mfana.
Tipireyi nyaya dzekufa kwa General kwete nyaya dzemubhuku dzatsuro nagudo,in as much as it is not a crime to belong to a minority tribe it is equalynot a crime to belong to the majority.What i have noted is we have a lot of people wo are terribly misinformed about the Dissident era corrupted and referred to as Gukurahundi.Non of the so called Ndebeles has ever bothered to tell what prompted the GVT of the day then to react that way .They never talk of an uprise by the disgruntled Ndebeles, to be honesty with you no GVT worth its salt would have allowed bandtry and dissidentry like what these Ndebeles were were hoping to achieve.Having witnessed the war of liberation i can now tell you that one of the main reasons why ZANU split from ZAPU was because of the later’s reluctance to useforce as means of topplinging the Smith regime.If late Nkomo really wanted (iam not being disrespectful)he could have ruled Zimbabwe at about the same time Zambia got its independence but the whites realised his weakness of wanting to have endless talks.Remember the late General initially trained as a Zipra cadre but also got frustrated by Nkomo’s relactance to face the whites head on.ZAPU’s strategy was to attack a ZANU GVT as they could not stomack how a junior party like ZANU could rule ahead of them.Admitedly ZAPU had the best military artillary including aeroplanes but the guys were just lazzy and if one analysis the war of liberation itself you will notice thatby1979 Zanla had made a lot of inroads in Zimbabwe.Pungwes,Mujibhas and chibwindos was Zanla concept of mobiising the masses. There was no equivalence of such terms and and approach in Zipra.So the issue of Dissents its something which was planned well ahead before independence but you will have vana mafikizolo like Naked and rest trying to confuse issues.Let me say it again the ZANU GVT(before unity)was only responding to a military threat of Zipra renegance who could not accept that ZANU was now the GVT.
We are all equally before the eyes of God. Lets work together n redifine our country for beter,if not for us then fo generations to come. Lets mobilise our resources,eforts n atention to nation building. One loud voice n we wil be heard. Viva ubhuntu sprt
U are falling into a zanu pf tribal trap the more u engage in non constructive tribal debate you strengthen zanupf strategy
Kuboni is a hero to me on this website. Bla Miki, I applaud you for your last comment. Anyone is free to see things the way they want. That’s the democracy that we fought for. It’s ok for you to continue supporting your party Zanu but you need to convince others why they must support your party. Tribal insults wont help at all. As far as I know, Mugabe is trying as much as possible to get support from Ndebeles since a lot of Shonas have rejected him. Hence the reason why he stood by Simon Khaya Moyo and Jabulani Sibanda when some Shonas wanted to remove them. So by insulting us you are actually surbotaging your own president whom you seem to love so much. Think about it brother. Tribalism has no place in today’s politics.
Kuboni, famba mushe shamwari iri dhibheti iri haungarigone waita mudiki nderedu isu. Asi one thing you should remember is that, l being in a democratic people’s party called Zanu pf headed by the ever wise and mighty leader in Cde RG Mugabe, am ready to encompass the good, the bad, ugly, right or wrong and am there to show or lead the way from the white supremacy syndrome by my fellow countrymen found in the puppet party of the mdc. l feel very sorry and ashamed of people like small boy naked, gayhurree, oj and yourself for failing to see what l see. But thanks for exonerating me from this tribal rhetoric for it is for sure not in my vocabulary and school of thought. Thanks though ende usazodairira panenge pavekunakidza debate
Ya, indoda ikhulumile le. Kodwa phela ozasikhuzela laba abesishoneni ngubani, ngoba yibo abakhanya begwaba kakhulu. Mina ngivele ngatsho ukuthi ishona kalingethusi ngoba vele bakhona engibagqinileyo abangisebenzelayo. Ngakho, I don’t see anything special about them ukuthi bangantela kanje.
Kuboni, u r a wise man, thanks for bringing Cde Naked to book, ngiyabona uyakulalela ngempela. Impi iyaphela noma ngeyezikhali nxa seziphelile noma ngeyamazwi nxa esephelile. uViva usekhathele usempontshile kodwa uNaked angiboni ukuthi awakhe aphelile, ngithemba uzobakhona umkhuze wena bhud’omkhulu wakhe. Mina ezobandlululo angizingeni ngoba ngiyazi ukthi ngapha langapha izinja zikhona, sewake wezwa wena umahluko nxa izinja zikhonkhotha? Noma yiBulldog noma yi Jack russel konke kuyakhonkhotha kodwa konke yizinja! Tribal trash talk will never solve anything in this country, or anywhere! Zikhona indlela zokuzithuthukisa amaNdebele nxa sibandlululwa! Listen to the Great Joseph Hill when he sings “Tribal War”
Makwembere u are welcome,all we want is to see those who murdered innocent pple during Gukurawundi to tell their story, why they did it n who was the mastermind.The country also need TRC like in Rwanda n SA in order move forward ngoba I see more danger after Mugabe.If he is wise enough he should solve issue while he is still alive
Seyi kuda kutirasisa nyanya nokurovera bhora mudondo. Back kumusoro wenyaya. Ini hangu ndinofunga kuti tikatumira maCID vekuHomicide Dhipatimendi vakambo nyatsokwatura Robert Mugabe nembama dzinorwadaza anotitaurira kuti Solomon Mujuru akaurairweyi uye kuti ndiyani nyakuzviita.
Munopaona sei varume?
I wonder why some people think that it’s special to be Shona. I for instance being a Mndhevana have enjoyed and continue to enjoy better privilages in this county than the so called Shona. So vakomana stop poluting the air nemiromo yenyu irikunhuwa nzara.
Makwembere you are very welcome to join us. You will woon realise that the original Mthwakazi was the whole of present day Zimbabwe stretching into Mozambique Beira. Tinokugamuchirai changamire, mwuri mwumwe wedu!
Cde naked my friend, can I come and join Mthwakhazi too? Do you places for MDC lovers like me? We are also equally not happy with the way Mugabe and his goons treated you
U are good ngokwenza amajokes ngithe asihlangane man to man uma uliqawe langempela
strong words kuboni but i tried having a cease fire and demob with naked and form a patriotic front which he rejected and remained adamant in his actions of throwing insults and provocative tones the enos nkala way but truth be told i was only firing after being bombarded with his ugly words but true 2 wrongs do not make a right i am prepared to drop this name provided he also complies with this resolution and refrains from his flagrant ways i will very much wait and see but should this continue i will also soldier on goodbye and wish you luck in your new pursuit kuboni
Umbhalo wakho muhle njalo uyangiyakha mina ngifuna uhlale ula ungayindawo usiluleke lapho siphuma endleleni, yonke into oyilobe la phansi iyiqiniso.Ngiyaxolisa kumfowethu uDabulapu ngokuphambuka endleleni ngokukhuluma amazvi amabi.I feel angry ngokubona abantu beMatebeland behlutshwa yilabantu,mina ngilebelief yokuthi uma singazilweli ngubani ozosilwela kufanele sizilwele sibambane ngeke basiqede behluleka kudala
Big up Kuboni. Lets stay out and fight all this injustice. We shall win at the end, bayethe!
Am quiting the debate today but not before I tell all of you why I have always appeared to take sides with Comrade Naked and what I realy believe about characters such as Bla Miki, Chando, Greyhora,Oga,Viva Gukurawundi,Dubulap, Papa Wemba aka Papa Wenja(joke), Mavambo, Naked and Oj.
I am not going to apologise for giving myself the credentials to judge.
May I start off by not apologising but announce that I have had to violate my principles several times for Cde Naked. I have a moral obligation to tell you why I did that yet I claim to be above triblism just in case Dubulap is disappointed. I mind criticism from a wiseman.
I believe that Cde Naked has such an attitude towards fellow Shona citizens because he does not see the difference between Viva Gukurawundi, Gukurawundi and Shona speakers. What sort of a thing would insult someone of Joshua Nkomo’s stature in society? What sort of an African thinks of insulting our father Zimbabwe or our Mandela posthumusly?
OK lets forget about that because Viva Gukurawundi is a victim of the system only that he has gone a step farther in distinguishing himself as a remorseless advocate of the system accused of committing crimes that others including demons themselves are now regreting.
I ask others to understand that Chando, Bla Miki, Greyhora and many others who I have fought so ferociously against are not tribalists. They simply defend their position and return fire with fire, others just get caught in cross fire. I have seen that they do not happily fight tribalism with tribalism. Deep down I see them as sad participants in tribalism. Cde Naked does not mind saying anything against Shonas and I do not think he has a Shona friend.
I realise that Cde Naked behaves like this is because he has never had any joy from a Shona speaker. Remember our situation is such that all positions in the Zimbabwean civil service except for a very negligible token positions are filled in by shona speakers. What makes matters bad is that even those very few non-shona speakers have lent the survival tactics that for one to avoid victimisation you have to be more Shona than Shonas themselves. You find Mr Nleya in Bulawayo adressing Kalanga speakers in Shona. The diction in public offices including at border posts is just as bad as that of Viva Gukurawundi.
People must be reminded that most of Ndebeles in the diaspora including Naked left the country during Gukurawundi and for most of them the first and last time they met Shonas, it was Gukurawundi coming to kill them. When they returned home (for those who dared do that)after years in exile they found rude men speaking the same language that Gukurawundi spoke,retorting that “andindzwi ndewere speak Shona!” or “andindzwi.” “Andindzvi Ndewere” is not the same as “I am sorry sir I do not speak Ndebele.” People of Viva Gukurawundi mentality are found everywhere in Zimbabwe these days. All public officers junior and senior are like Viva in Zimbabwe. They are not only natured by the status quo but they are rewarded for their unflinching segregative stance towards non Shonas.
Those who try to be fair are victimised on allegations of practising tribalism or just being a menber of the opposition.
Even newspapers prepare ground for the Maginalisation of Ndebele Kids through screeming headlines. “Matebeland students shun presidential scholarship.” Why not investigate and report the truth rather than making wide sweeping statements after a glace at who has benefited from a presidential scholaship. By this imply that Matebeleland hates the person of RG Mugabe to the point of refusing any help associated with his office. That can never be true. How can they when there is a difference between President R.G Mugabe and a Presidential Office? In fact I have a case of a number of students from Matabeleland who come from very poor families and one of them being a straight orphan who had above 10 A’level points in sciences and arts from 2011 exams who were dropped from the presidential scholarship in the last minute and without warning in preference of Shona Students who had 8 points and below. The students 3 of them girls and 2 boys are seated at home for the second year this year with no hope of a future yet they did so well at school. Check with University of Pretoria ref 20 students 2012 intake and UCT. All the above constitute crimes against humanity or genoside as defined by the ICCJ.
May I ask my moderate Shona brothers how they would like living in a country where technicaly speaking 100% of the civil servants address them in the manner Comrade Naked addresses them in this forum? this means you will be frustrated 99% of the times.
I view Naked as a symbol of resistance to Shona dominated injustices. Cde Naked represents a deep seated reactionery rejection of Shonas by Ndebeles and most of such people are after the creation of a separate state. Under the circumstances can we just rubish them and continue to leave peacefully? That would be a dream come true.
I salute Mavambo and Dubulap for their moderate articles. I salute Oj for his level headedness and for contributing the most educative articles paforum. He is the most disciplined character I have met. As for Viva Gukurawundi I know we will meet in the square circle oneday soon. Atleast he has made Comrade Naked know whose ass to kick amoung Shonas. As a parting friendly shot I would like to let Naked know that insulting minority tribes like he did when he insulted his brother Dubulap refering to Kalangas as “slave” is behaving worse than the “Swinas” he is always insulting. You must do something about your PR and learn to define you enermies well. Create allies as you fight and not more enemies. Besides most renowed Ndebele fighters during the struggle for independence and both impi zomvukela were Kalangas and sothos, vendas and tongas etc. e.g Jeqe not the late Steven Nkomo. The people of Matebeleland are one. Apologise to your big brother Dabulap.
iwe mhiwa shumba maivako ndomuroyi chazezesa sandivo vekubatwa kucghitungwiza mutoilet vadonha nerusero ehhhhhh seems like your mother is bending over for her supper from the ndevhanz manje vachafa ne NAVCAN NDEVHANI ACQUIRED VIRAL CANCER imbwa yemunhu kuda kuita kunge chiri level headed iwe wakauya ne bhazi rekumukira uchibva filabusi horo yemunhu ndimi vana vaiyamwiswa makatsikiswa bechkasi nanamuchembere mai vano pazhira buri semombe
Gukurahundi anodya vanhu. Ndiye anogocha vamwe. Imi mandevere musazvinetsa nomunhu anoroya masikati. Anofanana neshamwari dzake vana naked. Varegei vachasangana kumakuva vachitswaka nyama dzevanhu.
Stop investigations fortwith this is a stalemate
Why waste people’s time and tax payers money sitting in fictitious court. His Excellency RGM knew the exact plan before and after. Just schedule an interview for his birthday next month and throw in all these questions being asked in court I’m sure he will help all Zimbabweans put this case to rest.
At least Mavambo talks sense kwete mamwe maatuuzvii aya.
wena gukurahundi shona lothuvi mgodoyi..benzeni abantu bakobulawayo nja??liyabulalana lodwa liloyana sufuna ukusisola msathanyoko…hambofela khtshana msunu
magodzva eku buruwayo must be questioned the naked ones
Iwe Chando, the truth scares the sh1t out of u, that’s y u want the inquest abandoned. Kana makauraya general ngozi yacho hamufe makairipa mhondi dzevanhu
Ever heard about two armchair philosophers who spent weeks on end arguing whether human blood was red or white? What are we really trying to achieve through this inquest? A convincing explanation for death, huh? Typical of Africans, we always want to explain even the inexplicable. If someone dies of AIDS today, we still want to find out kuti chakadya mwana wedu chii. And when we are told it’s a virus we don’t want such explanations; we would rather hear that it’s a late mother-in-law who is fighting for the unpaid lobola of a daughter’s marriage. Hahahaha! Am saying let’s be sober and open our minds to natural and un-criminal possibilities here.
And for 17 guns in one person’s house! I guess it’s normal in Zimbabwe. You’d expect to see all kinds of text-books in a teacher’s house; all manner of medical sundries in a doctor’s house and all manner of tools and car parts in a auto-mechanic’s house. R.I.P. general!
Like i said earlier on, too many theories are being put forward to a point where you dont know who to believe rendering this whole effort useless.My personal opinion is to abandon this inquest and give time to the Mujuru family to recollect themselves.
Like u masvina othuvi you are everywhere
Iwe munhu anonzi Naked, hauna hembe uneshuku. Unongorutsa zvaunoda so meaninglessly, why not shush at times. You are everywhere all over the forum, Muchaza!!
Why waste our time,they injected his ass with the chemical used by illegal diamond n gold diggers.Close the case because this is a diamond deal that went wrong
Those that studied sciences can analyze all phenomena but propagandist loud mouths will say anything hoping to convince the povo.