'Mujuru expelled herself from Zanu-PF'

VICE President Joice Mujuru has literally expelled herself from Zanu-PF by filling nomination papers to contest the position of Vice President and Second Secretary of the party, defying the party's planned unanimous decision that only President Mugabe stands for election at the 6th National People's Congress early next month.

In an interview yesterday, chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association Christopher Mutsvangwa said even with her legendary ineptitude, the Vice President should know that her decision to defy the Politburo makes her ineligible to continue being a Zanu-PF member.

"I respected her as Vice President all along because she was my superior and what should stop her from respecting her superior President Mugabe," he said.

"She cannot be an exception to that discipline because Zanu-PF says iwe neni tine basa and you don't allocate yourself a self-serving job."
Mutsvangwa said it was a fundamental tenant of any organisation that one followed the hierarchy and once one fell foul to that hierarchy one must as either resign or get fired.

He said Zanu-PF had rules that should be respected and VP Mujuru's action was a clear sign of being non-compliant.

"She is totally offside and the referee will soon show her the red card. She should lead by example but her actions show how far her rebellious streak had entrenched itself in her because she is no longer a member of the club. That's why she is saying the rules don't apply to her. So, she is free to form her own club," Mutsvangwa said.

The war veterans' boss said VP Mujuru must realise that she is not different from all the cadres who participated in the liberation struggle. He said in 1980, all the war veterans were the same, but President Mugabe saw it fit to appoint her a minister and she has since risen at the benevolence of the President.

He said Zanu-PF is built on cadreship and one's love for the country.

"As party cadres and war veterans we respected her because she was part of a structure not because she was more heroic than us. Now it turns out the same organisation says your time is up and now she wants to challenge the decision of that organisation," said Mutsvangwa.

He said as a war veteran VP Mujuru has an obligation to respect her Commander-in-Chief President Mugabe just like what war veterans have done to her over the years.

The Vice President, said Mutsvangwa, should not be fixated on the position as Zanu-PF is built on cadreship.

"Her continuous rebellion is a measure of how deep her rebellion was. She must stop the nonsense of holding to ransom all party cadres who were in support of her under the illusion that she had an autonomous parallel centre of power," he said.

Mutsvangwa said the VP Mujuru had become the single biggest hindrances to the implementation of government's economic policies through corrupt deals.

Vice President Mujuru recently filed her papers to contest her current position at the forthcoming Zanu-PF National People's Congress, a move described by party members as unprocedural and unprecedented as the party had not called for such applications.

According to the Zanu-PF constitution, it is only the central committee aspirants who apply to be appointed and the party has since sent out a circular to provinces where prospective central committee members are required to submit their applications to the provincial elections directorate.