Night of long knives: Mugabe fires Mujuru, ministers

President Robert Mugabe has fired his deputy, Joice Mujuru and eight ministers, who have for the past weeks have been accused of being behind a plot to topple him from power. The official list released Tuesday afternoon shows Mugabe has sacked eight ministers all linked to Mujuru. Those fired include Presidential Affairs minister, Didymus Mutasa […]

President Robert Mugabe has fired his deputy, Joice Mujuru and eight ministers, who have for the past weeks have been accused of being behind a plot to topple him from power.

The official list released Tuesday afternoon shows Mugabe has sacked eight ministers all linked to Mujuru.

Those fired include Presidential Affairs minister, Didymus Mutasa who was also party secretary for administration, Labour minister Nicholas Goche, Indigenisation minister Francis Nhema, Higher and Tertiary Education minister, Olivia Muchena, ICT minister Webster Shamu and Mahonaland East Provincial Affairs minister Simbaneuta Mudarikwa.

Earlier reports said Mugabe fired Energy minister Dzikamai Mavhaire and his deputy Munacho Mutezo.

Mujuru received her dismissal letter on Monday night after weeks of accusations that she had led a “treacherous cabal” to try to unseat Mugabe.

Mujuru, in a press statement, on Tuesday blamed “a well-orchestrated smear campaign and gross abuse of state apparatus” that led to the loss of her ruling party post and shook Zimbabwean politics.

Mujuru, who once looked likely to succeed long-ruling Mugabe, has been accused of plotting to assassinate the 90-year-old and removed from the ruling ZANU-PF party’s central committee.

She said she was being victimised after exposing infiltrators conspiring to destroy the party, which has ruled the country since independence in 1980.

“I have become the fly in the web of lies whose final objective is the destruction of ZANU-PF and what it stands for and ultimately the present government,” Mujuru said in a statement.

“A vociferous attempt has been made to portray me as ‘a traitor’, ‘murderer’ and ‘sellout’, yet no iota of evidence has been produced to give credence to the allegations.”

Zanu PF held an elective congress last week which endorsed Mugabe as president and his wife Grace as head of the women’s wing.