Zimbabwe’s Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s last-minute appeal to President Robert Mugabe has been ignored and she was sacked on Tuesday.
The 59-year-old army commander’s widow was relieved of her duties along with seven cabinet ministers and one deputy loyal to her. According to an official statement Mujuru had been demoted because “it had become evident that her conduct in the discharge of her duties had become inconsistent with the expected standard, exhibiting conflict between official responsibilities and private interests”.
The names of the new vice presidents have not been announced. Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF’s constitution allows for two. Mugabe hinted he would fire Mujuru at a Zanu-PF congress on Saturday, saying those who had boycotted the event had already “said goodbye”.
‘Smear campaign’
Mujuru in a statement said she had been the victim of a smear campaign. She denied accusations that she had masterminded a plot to oust or kill Mugabe, as had been alleged by state media.
She blamed the attacks on a group within Zanu-PF with “nefarious intent”. The ministers who have lost their posts so far are ICT Minister Webster Shamu, Minister of State Simbarashe Mudarikwa, Minister of Indigenisation Francis Nhema, Higher Education Minister Olivia Muchena, Public Service Minister Nicholas Goche, Minister of Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa, Energy Minister Dzikamai Mavhaire, and his deputy Munacho Mutezo.
Mujuru told the Voice of America radio station that she received her dismissal letter late on Monday night. – Sapa