By Staff Reporter
HARARE-A SERIES of serious allegations levelled against ousted former vice president Joice Mujuru in the run up to the Zanu PF December congress which was rocked by succession squabbles appear to have been fabricated after all as many widely suspected following Information minister Jonathan Moyo’s admission that the accusations were a “political banter.”
In an interview with the BBC’s HardTalk last week Moyo dismissed the allegations as political banter.The BBC anchor Stephen Sackur asked Moyo that there is instability in the country five months after president Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace accused Mujuru of plotting to kill Mugabe.
Moyo then said “no that is political banter…” adding: “Well the fact of the matter is this is a statement coming from the run-up to our congress and it is a fact that there were quiet some serious allegations which were not created by the first lady but there were all over the place in the body politic. And it was very important to have a courageous person in the form of the first lady to speak to that issue.”
In the run up to the December congress and upon her entry into the mainstream politics Grace launched a scathing attack on Mujuru accusing her of all sorts of allegations ranging from corruption to plots to oust Mugabe “the Kabila way.”
However five months after Mujuru was fired no prosecution was done or efforts to bring her to court to answer on various charges of corruption and plots to assassinate Mugabe.
Moyo’s admission confirms what many suspected that Mugabe used Grace to attack Mujuru in the bid to hold on to power.
Mujuru, however, refused to shed light on the crumpling case: “I watched Jonathan Moyo’s interview but I have no comment on the issue.”
In February this year top government sources told the Zimbabwe Independent that Mujuru appears safe from arrest and prosecution as Mugabe and top law enforcement agents balk at indicting her on corruption cases she was allegedly involved in during her long stay in government despite a complete docket.
Sources said the said Mugabe met with Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who also runs the Justice ministry and a senior official in the Prosecutor-General’s Office to deal with Mujuru’s case.
After police completed the docket, Mugabe, Mnangagwa and law officers decided to shelve the case as they feared it would appear like they are pursuing a vindictive political agenda in the aftermath of a bitter succession battle last December in which she was ruthlessly crushed and removed with her top allies.
