Obituary: Solomon Mujuru: Zimbabwe general, Zanu-PF kingmaker

Solomon Mujuru, who has died in a fire on his farm south of Harare at the age of 62, led the armed struggle against white minority rule in Rhodesia and was one of the most influential, respected and wealthiest people in Zimbabwe at the time of his death.

His nom de guerre was Rex Nhongo, and for 10 years - while Robert Mugabe sat in jail - he and Josiah Tongogara led the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army against the forces of Ian Smith.

After Mugabe's release in 1974 Mujuru, who was from the same Zezuru branch of Zimbabwe's majority Shona group as Mugabe, helped get him to Mozambique where the Zanla forces, of which he was deputy head, were based. Then he pretty much ordered his reluctant and suspicious commanders to accept Mugabe as their political leader.

In spite of the wide and deep respect Mujuru commanded, there was resistance. Mugabe knew nothing about war and the battle-hardened Zanla fighters knew little or nothing about him. Those who baulked were ruthlessly dealt with. Mujuru's reputation as someone not to be trifled with was cemented.

Subsequently he and Mugabe had their differences, but the Zimbabwean president never forgot how much he owed him.

Mujuru was the first black general in Zimbabwe after independence, and had the task of forging the Zimbabwe National Army out of disparate, mutually suspicious forces. That he managed to do this and survive the jungle of competing egos, ambitions and agendas that were, as they still are, rife, was a measure not only of the extent to which he was looked up to as a liberation war hero, but also of his capacity for brutality at times.

He retired as head of the army in 1992 to pursue business interests, and amassed a fortune. He and his wife Joice became the owners of a large hardware company, private security firms, the country's second-largest brickmaker, shares in financial institutions and extensive diamond and platinum interests. In 2007 they won mining deals worth US$1.3-billion from Chinese state companies.

He also grabbed his share of white-owned farms. He is reported to have had 16 of them. The one he died on when the farmhouse went up in flames was the subject of the first legal action against a member of Mugabe's inner circle. In 2001 his seizure of the 1400ha farm was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe.

The Mujurus were on a list of Zanu-PF party members subject to personal sanctions imposed by the US.

Mujuru always preferred to be the power behind the throne rather than on the throne himself. The person he wanted to lead the country, after the departure of Mugabe, was his wife, who he married in 1977.

Joice Mujuru is a tough person in her own right - the name she adopted during the struggle was Teurai Ropa, which means Spill Blood. She claimed to have downed a Rhodesian helicopter with the machine gun of a dying comrade, and was promoted to commander.

But she couldn't stop her husband from sleeping around, and their marriage had to all intents and purposes broken down. Although they kept up appearances, they had not lived together for years.

Nevertheless, she was the vehicle for his ambitions and he the driving power behind hers. It is generally accepted that without his considerable clout, connections and political nous, she would not be the prominent player she has become.

With Mujuru's help, and thanks to Mugabe's direct support, she became vice-president of Zimbabwe in 2004. Before Mujuru's death she was considered a frontrunner to succeed Mugabe.

Her chief opponent is Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa. There has been intense rivalry between him and the more moderate Mujurus for years. The factions around them have been evenly matched but without Mujuru to hold the groups around his wife together and spearhead her campaign, the balance may shift in favour of the formidable Mnangagwa.