PresidentMugabe sacks his vice president, ministers in Zimbabwe .. Read why
heir apparent, has been fired along with eight cabinet allies,
the government said Tuesday as the veteran leader purged
his foes.
As the elderly head of state sought to quell infighting over
his successor, the chief secretary to the cabinet, Misheck
Sibanda, said in a terse statement that Joice Mujuru had
been fired.
Also sacked were her allies in the ministries of energy,
public service, and half a dozen other departments, he said.
The move caps a long campaign by Mugabe and his closest lieutenants to isolate the 59-year-old Mujuru and her supporters. Once seen as the favourite to step into the shoes of Mugabe, who is now 90, she has come under increasing attack, notably from Mugabe's increasingly powerful wife Grace. Critics have accused Mujuru of plotting to assassinate the president and of dodgy business dealings.
"It has become evident that her conduct in the discharge of
her duties had become inconsistent with the expected
standard," Sibanda said in the statement.
He also blamed Mujuru for "conflict between official
responsibilities and private interests".
Mujuru earlier Tuesday blamed "a well-orchestrated smear
campaign and gross abuse of state apparatus" for the loss
last week of her powerful position on the ruling party's
central committee.
Her ouster shook Zimbabwean politics.
– 'Fly in web of lies' –
The ruling ZANU-PF party last week met for a closely-
watched congress to elect its officials, finally endorsing
Mugabe as president and his high-profile wife Grace as head
of the women's wing.
Mujuru said she was being victimised after exposing
infiltrators conspiring to destroy the party, which has ruled
the country since independence in 1980.
"I have become the fly in the web of lies whose final
objective is the destruction of ZANU-PF and what it stands
for and ultimately the present government," Mujuru said in
a statement.
"A vociferous attempt has been made to portray me as 'a
traitor', 'murderer' and 'sellout', yet no iota of evidence has
been produced to give credence to the allegations."
The ZANU-PF has been riven by factionalism over Mugabe's
succession but in the past party leaders managed to paper
over the cracks.
The public battle with Mujuru not only has rocked
Zimbabwean politics but has put 68-year-old Justice Minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa firmly in top position to replace
Mugabe.
Mnangagwa is seen as a hardliner who in the past controlled
the secret police and military.
Mujuru did not attend last week's party congress following
threats against her and her sympathisers by members of the
party's youth league.
"I decided to stay away from inevitable public humiliation as
was meted out to other unfortunate members of the party,"
she said.
"It was important to maintain the dignity of the office of the
vice president even in the face of such unwarranted violence
by a section of the party membership."
Mujuru is a former guerrilla fighter who had held cabinet
posts in every Mugabe government since independence in
1980.
Some cite another possible candidate as Grace Mugabe, who
has also been called "Gucci Grace" and "First Shopper".
The reports follow the election of the 49-year-old former
typist to a top post as head of the ruling ZANU-PF party's
women's wing.
After her nomination as head of the ZANU-PF women's
league in August, Grace immediately launched a sustained
campaign against Mujuru, accusing her of corruption and
plotting to topple her husband.
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