HARARE – Johannes Tomana, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, died on Sunday aged 55.
The former Prosecutor General was visiting his rural home in Honde Valley when he fell sick suddenly, complaining of “stomach pain”, according to relatives.
He died while efforts were being made to transport him to Harare.
The family has called in police to probe his suspicious death, amid fears that he died of food poisoning.
“We shared our concerns with Ruda police in Honde Valley and we were informed that CID Forensics is on its way from Harare,” a relative said, declining to be named as he was not cleared to talk to the media.
Tomana, a lawyer, was appointed Zimbabwe’s attorney general in 2009. He left the post in 2013 to take up a position as Prosecutor General. His new appointment was dogged by controversy after he told journalists that 12-year-old children can consent to sex, leading to a public rebuke by then first lady Grace Mugabe.
He was fired in 2017 for misconduct and incompetence after a tribunal set up by former president Robert Mugabe recommended his dismissal. He was accused of defying court orders, in one of the charges.
He attempted to return to private practice as a lawyer, but his application to the Law Society of Zimbabwe was initially rejected after he failed a “fit and proper” person test.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed him ambassador to the DRC in 2020.
“Tomana was one of the finest lawyers that Zimbabwe has produced, it’s a pity that his detour to political and diplomatic office deprived some of us of his tremendous legal skills,” academic Ibbo Mandaza said in a tribute.
