HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) – Zimbabwe’s vice president was a rebel commander known as “Spill Blood” during the war against white rulers and, at the age of 25, became the youngest Cabinet minister after independence. Now she is a political pariah, accused of plotting the downfall of President Robert Mugabe with the help of nocturnal sorcery.
The rise and fall of Vice President Joice Mujuru follows a pattern repeated over the years under 90-year-old Mugabe, a shrewd operator who has ousted rivals and cracked down on opponents during his long rule, dodging repeated predictions of his political demise. He has also sought to turn his tense ties with the West, a critic of his human rights record, into a rallying cry for nationalist support.
On Saturday, a ruling party congress is expected to announce new leadership that will reinforce Mugabe’s grip on power and reveal his possible successor. A front runner is Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, who suffered the same treatment as Mujuru a decade ago but is back in favor. Recently, a beaming Mnangagwa was the guest of honor at a soccer match honoring Mugabe.
Mujuru, once favored to succeed Mugabe, is unlikely to stay as vice president following months of increasingly vitriolic attacks on her by Mugabe allies, according to political observers. This week, Mugabe himself criticized his old associate, saying Mujuru was told by a witch to get two river beetles, name them after herself and the president, and store them in a water jar.
“They were made to fight and if Mugabe’s beetle dies, then she will rule. I don’t know what would happen if the Mugabe beetle won. I think that’s what happened,” Mugabe said in the local Shona language to ruling ZANU-PF party leaders on Wednesday.