Zimbabwe: Mujuru’s party braces for ‘war’ with Mugabe

Some of the women gathered could be heard shouting that they only listen to President Robert Mugabe, and not the First Lady Grace, who leads another faction, the G40, which is opposed to Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction, which is backed by war veterans.

Mujuru’s new party contains other veterans of Zimbabwe’s 1970s independence war who have been expelled from Zanu-PF since the party held its congress in December 2014, she said.

“President for life Robert Mugabe wants the United Nations (meaning America) to provide $1.5 billion per year, to feed Zimbabwean people who are now going hungry, thanks to his government’s decade-long policy of looting and trashing productive farms”, Eric Worrall, a columnist at the climate science blog Watts Up With That, wrote on Sunday.

A former Zanu (PF) stalwart, she earlier served in several cabinet posts under Mr Mugabe and was seen for many years as his favoured choice of successor.

Police dispersed a faction that had gathered in a sports centre in Harare before a planned march to the headquarters of Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party in the city.

Zimbabwean Vice-President Joice Mujuru.

The President’s spokesperson Mr George Charamba, who also doubles up as Permanent Secretary for Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, made the announcement in Harare yesterday.

“Comrade President, we plead with you to rein and restrain our respected mother, your wife Dr Grace Mugabe for the good of the party, your legacy, unity and for her own good as a politician”, he said.

Grace Mugabe did not fight in the independence war but hinted last week Mnangagwa may not be Mugabe’s chosen heir and condemned veterans for arrogance.

Mnangagwa did not respond to several requests for comment for this article.

“The lesson for Mnangagwa is that you can quarrel, you can struggle among yourselves, as long as you do not commit the cardinal sin of wanting to take over while the president is still alive”, he added. “Now the president is being told this guy has crossed that red line”.