Susan Tsvangirai - Personal and Political Life

Personal and Political Life

Tsvangirai was born Susan Mhundwa on 24 April 1958. She was raised in the Gunde area of Buhera District, which is near Dorowa Minerals.

Tsvangirai met her future husband, Morgan, in 1976 at the Trojan Nickel Mine in Bindura, Rhodesia, where he worked at the time as a foreman. She was visiting her uncle at the time of their meeting. Morgan reportedly told a friend at the time, "That is the girl I am going to marry!" They married in 1978 and the couple had six children during their marriage, which lasted for 31 years.

Although Tsvangirai often avoided the direct public spotlight, she played a significant, even if sometimes symbolic, role in Zimbabwean politics. She became one of the most popular figures within the MDC-T. Dennis Murira, the MDC-T Elections Director, described her as "a woman who was of immense significance to the party, a woman who on several occasions managed to comfort a number of us who were victims of this struggle." Supporters often chanted "mother, mother" at rallies and events. She remained by her husband as he faced treason charges and police beatings in his opposition to President Robert Mugabe.

In addition to her MDC-T campaign and rally efforts, Tsvangirai offered vital support to her husband, and the MDC-T. Following attempts on Morgan's life, by groups loyal to Mugabe and the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) movement, Tsvangirai brought him food in prison after his police beatings and nursed him back to health afterwards. Such as when, in 1997, an unidentified gang tried to throw Morgan from a tenth floor office window, and in 2007 when he was admitted to hospital after a brutal assault by police at a prayer rally. She also made a point of visiting MDC members who were jailed while the party was in opposition.

In March 2009, following her husband's success in forging a unity government, Tsvangirai told a BBC affiliate that the past decade had been an "endurance test" for her, her husband and his MDC colleagues:

Following her death, Thabitha Khumalo, a member of parliament for the MDC, described her role as "a mother figure for the whole nation. Few people knew about her work. Whenever they saw her she was accompanying her husband to court or to vote, but very few people knew she played a very crucial role behind closed doors... She was a pillar of strength to her husband. In a struggle like his, you need someone to lean on and she was always there for him."