News / National
Mujuru allies stop Grace Mugabe
27 Feb 2015 at 15:46hrs | Views
Zanu-PF heavyweights, reportedly aligned to former Vice President, Joice Mujuru, have effectively managed to stop first lady, Grace Mugabe, from becoming president, following claims that a planned court action by a top ally of Mujuru, will seek for the judiciary to also amend the country's constitution, by striking off, a provision requiring one of the vice presidents to be a woman, The Telescope News reported.
Didymus Mutasa, the ousted former secretary for administration, is the only known ex-senior government official thought to be on the verge of taking the Zanu PF leadership to court, over the legality of it's controversial congress held in December 2014, which resulted in the decimation of Mujuru's faction from the doorsteps of power.
Mugabe who has warned Mutasa not to proceed to the High Court, with the matter, but instead seek redress from within the party structures, only yesterday made a tacit admission on a yet to be aired national television interview that, the constitution had not been amended to change the provision relating to a woman deputy.
"I don't think we have removed it (constitutional clause on women being vice president), but we have just ignored it," Mugabe said.
"We have appointed vice presidents and we have not appointed a woman because we want to rein in the situation, but it doesn't mean in the future there will be no woman."
Mujuru backers who spoke to The Telescope News yesterday, said they had intelligence that, Mugabe had deliberately "ignored" the contentious clause, so Grace Mugabe, could have an easy passage to power, by first being appointed vice president, before an outright take over at some stage.
"We are not sleeping at all," said one Mujuru cadre, who has survived dismissal from government. "Some good people of our beloved country have given us the intelligence, and we now know Grace Mugabe wants a powerful minister post, such as defence in the coming cabinet reshuffle, before being promoted to VP, thereby catching all of us by surprise. This is why we are going to use the courts to block her, because the country's constitution is more superior than the party constitution."
Top military hardliners, as we reported yesterday, have also allegedly "written off" the first lady from behind the scenes, with army sources maintaining that Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga, has resolved to having VP Emmerson Mnangagwa, succeeding Mugabe, with an intricate plan said to be in place.
Furthermore the first lady, it would appear is not healthy and fit enough to take a demanding position of authority, as she did not even last the whole session of her debut Politburo meeting in Harare.
Mugabe made the disclosure, during his soon to be televised birthday interview. "She isn't the power behind my throne, she has come into politics in her own right," said Mugabe. "She hasn't come yet into the real part of things. She has just attended one Politburo meeting, which she didn't attend fully because she is not yet strong."
Didymus Mutasa, the ousted former secretary for administration, is the only known ex-senior government official thought to be on the verge of taking the Zanu PF leadership to court, over the legality of it's controversial congress held in December 2014, which resulted in the decimation of Mujuru's faction from the doorsteps of power.
Mugabe who has warned Mutasa not to proceed to the High Court, with the matter, but instead seek redress from within the party structures, only yesterday made a tacit admission on a yet to be aired national television interview that, the constitution had not been amended to change the provision relating to a woman deputy.
"I don't think we have removed it (constitutional clause on women being vice president), but we have just ignored it," Mugabe said.
"We have appointed vice presidents and we have not appointed a woman because we want to rein in the situation, but it doesn't mean in the future there will be no woman."
"We are not sleeping at all," said one Mujuru cadre, who has survived dismissal from government. "Some good people of our beloved country have given us the intelligence, and we now know Grace Mugabe wants a powerful minister post, such as defence in the coming cabinet reshuffle, before being promoted to VP, thereby catching all of us by surprise. This is why we are going to use the courts to block her, because the country's constitution is more superior than the party constitution."
Top military hardliners, as we reported yesterday, have also allegedly "written off" the first lady from behind the scenes, with army sources maintaining that Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga, has resolved to having VP Emmerson Mnangagwa, succeeding Mugabe, with an intricate plan said to be in place.
Furthermore the first lady, it would appear is not healthy and fit enough to take a demanding position of authority, as she did not even last the whole session of her debut Politburo meeting in Harare.
Mugabe made the disclosure, during his soon to be televised birthday interview. "She isn't the power behind my throne, she has come into politics in her own right," said Mugabe. "She hasn't come yet into the real part of things. She has just attended one Politburo meeting, which she didn't attend fully because she is not yet strong."
Source - Itai Mushekwe
