Joice Mujuru: prepares for a poll fight with the Old Man

Zimbabwe’s ousted vice president, Joice Mujuru, published plans on Tuesday to relax security and media laws and review divisive black empowerment legislation.

Mujuru’s plans signalled she could be a challenge to President Robert Mugabe in 2018 elections.

Mujuru, once seen as one of Mugabe’s closest allies, was dismissed from her government and ruling party posts in December on charges that she led a cabal that planned to topple Africa’s oldest leader.

On Tuesday in Harare, she published book titled: “a Blueprint to Unlock Investment and Leverage for Development’’, but the two-page plan appeared like an election manifesto.

“We have been hard at work and I wish to share with you, in brief, how we propose to translate our vision for a better Zimbabwe into reality,” Mujuru wrote.

Mujuru, 60, has not formed a political party, however, during her 10 years as Mugabe’s deputy, she was seen as a shoe-in to replace Zimbabwe’s sole leader since independence from Britain in 1980.

Her policy document comes at a time the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has split and weakened over how to confront Mugabe.

The ruling ZANU-PF party has already chosen Mugabe as its candidate for the 2018 presidential poll, when he will be 94 years.

(Reuters/NAN)