ROSEMARY SIBANDA, the woman at the centre of the adultery storm that engulfed Archbishop Pius Ncube and eventually forced him to quit, died here last Friday.

Archbishop Ncube, formerly of Bulawayo and a vocal critic of President Robert Mugabe’s government, admitted to the adulterous affair with Sibanda shortly before he left for the Vatican.

Rosemary, whose estranged husband Onesimus Sibanda is suing the former archbishop for adultery, died just after noon on Friday, a family member who asked not to be named said, according to newzimbabwean.com.

Hospital authorities, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said she had been admitted on April 30 and suffered from pneumonia.

The prominent cleric was caught in a newspaper investigation believed to have been funded by government agents.

Archbishop Ncube, sworn to celibacy, originally denied the allegations, but in February admitted the affair to Frontier TV, an independent film Production Company.