FORMER vice president and widow of the late general Solomon Mujuru, Joice who has since her ouster from Zanu PF been attacked by former colleagues for her supposed “illicit love affairs” says she has had no boyfriend, five years after her husband’s death.
In a tale that seems to dismiss accusations by her now “enemies” who include First Lady Grace Mugabe and a former colleague in the liberation struggle, George Rutanhire, Mujuru suggests that she lives a morally upright life.
In a wide ranging interview on her role in the deterioration of Zimbabwe, human rights abuses and love, on the Hot seat a radio programme with Violet Gonda, Mujuru said stories about her were just a smear campaign.
During her rants attacking Mujuru, Grace said she was in possession of videos where Mujuru was wearing a mini-skirt in the presence of a young lover. The First Lady further said Mujuru was loose and did not behave or dress motherly like herself.
Mujuru said Rutanhire decided to distort history by fabricating lies so he could push an agenda as he claimed that many people had died as a result of Mujuru’s love affairs during the war.
She challenged Rutanhire saying: “I don’t want to go into detail because I am not such a character, people know me, now I am a widow for five years, I have no boyfriend, I have never had a boyfriend in my marriage, so for George to say that to me, only God knows because, he himself knows what he was saying, he was lying and you can’t say to somebody ‘you caused the deaths of people’ and where did you see those deaths happening since I never met you?’
“But these are people who are paid to denigrate me because of who I am.”
She said unlike the stories that Rutanhire told the world about how they met and how they travelled together during the war, they had only met once.
“I never saw George, George was never my commander. What I only remember of George having done during my presence was out there in Zambia when George was asked to go to Sweden and be part of a group that was collecting clothes for freedom fighters and packing them to send to Mozambique, that’s all that I know about George Rutanhire.”
“I was 18 years, just having completed my junior certificate… I was recruited from my home area. It’s unfortunate (they say I was just a chombwido). To be very honest George Rutanhire, he left the country, I never saw him, he was recruited in June from St Albert’s Mission, at which point I also want to correct people, many people say that I was recruited from St Albert’s Mission, no I wasn’t. I went to school at Howard, which is a Salvation Army secondary school. I wasn’t recruited from Howard; I joined the freedom fighters from my home area, which is in Dotito in December.”
Mujuru said because of her war duties, she gave birth in battle and only kept her daughter for three weeks before going back to the battlefield.
“I broke my waters in battle and on that day we lost a lot of comrades; Mudzingadzi was attacked that is when I had my first daughter called Rungano. After giving birth, I only had my daughter for three weeks because I had my responsibilities. My daughter was then taken by her aunt (Mrs) Tongogara to look after her,” said Mujuru as she told her version of the story. &mdash-Weekend Post
