Joice Mujuru Launches Own Party

Things were heavily shaken up in Zimbabwean politics yesterday when former vice president of the country, Joice Mujuru, announced that she was launching her own political party.

The party – called the Zimbabwe People First party – will directly challenge president Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party and will be led by Mujuru herself.

Mujuru has also said that she herself will stand against Mugabe in the run for president in 2018.

There has been a lot of political unrest as of late in the country, with many wondering what the political landscape will look like within the next 18-months as many are questioning Mugabe’s age and whether or not he will be able to lead the country anymore.

And while there may =be a lot of doubt surrounding Mugabe’s ability to lead, it is believed that he will stand for re-election once again in 2018. Mugabe has been the president of Zimbabwe since the country received independence in 1980.

Mujuru said that her new party will tackle corruption in the country and called on fellow Zimbabweans to support her and fight against corruption and a poorly managed country. She said that the formation of the Zimbabwe People First party is a significant move in the political landscape of Zimbabwe:

“…Today is a historic day…This is a day of significance in our country’s political history,” she said.

Mujuru also called on war veterans and officers to help her defend the country’s constitution:

‘…The scourge of corruption needs to be totally uprooted…We urge all our war veterans, police, army and intelligence services to defend the constitution,” Mujuru told reporters at a press conference.

Mujuru is also no stranger for fighting for what she believes in – be that political or not. In the 70’s, before Zimbabwe’s independence, she was guerilla fighter in the liberation war.

She was then made vice-president in 2004 by Robert Mugabe. However, things turned sour between the two and she was subsequently fired from Mugabe’s government in 2014.