The wife of the Zimbabwe army chief is to sue opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and independent news services over claims she assaulted a photographer during a tour of a nearly-empty supermarket, state radio said Thursday, according to dpa. Jocelyn Chiwenga, wife of army commander Constantine Chiwenga, told a press conference convened in Harare that the reports were an attack on her private life, the radio said. Websites and private news sites were awash Thursday with reports the general's wife had slapped photographer Tsvangirai Mukwazi who was accompanying Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) president Tsvangirai during a tour of a South African-owned shop in Harare on Wednesday. Seeing the mainly empty shelves at the store, Tsvangirai is reported to have criticized President Robert Mugabe's controversial price slash last month. Mugabe, 83, ordered shops, businesses, hotels, restaurants and schools to slash their prices by at least 50 per cent, leading to widespread shortages. The MDC said the move was a political gimmick meant to shore up waning support for the ruling party ahead of next years polls. Reports said Jocelyn Chiwenga was enraged to see the MDC leader accompanied by his bodyguards and journalists in the store, and immediately ordered guards to close the shop. Photographer Mukwazi is reported to have been trapped within the supermarket, where he was allegedly slapped and insulted by Chiwenga, who was shopping at the time. State radio said the army commander's wife was furious to hear Morgan Tsvangirai, who she said had called for sanctions on Zimbabwe, referred to as the president. She has announced she will sue the MDC leader and independent news services that have carried reports on the alleged incident.
