Coming from a protracted bush war against British colonialists in 1980, many of Zimbabwe’s key figures in government were barely literate.
Few had degrees in various fields such as law, academia, medicine, and agriculture. Some were acquired in prison and a motley in exile from friendly host countries including Russia, China, Zambia et al.
Nonetheless, most ex-guerilla fighters could neither read nor write well, at least according to the late President Robert Mugabe who at one point singled out the demoted former Vice President Dr Joice Runaida Mujuru, also known by her nom-de-guerre Teurairopa translated to ‘spill blood’, and some officials in the defense forces.
She was born on 15 April 1955 and was wife to the deceased Solomon Mujuru- widely considered a kingmaker in his retirement following a decorated and illustrious military career.
Mujuru the man is a hero, liberation war supremo, and Zimbabwe’s National Army’s first black General who died in an inferno at his Beatrice farm close to Harare and his influence played a role for the former VP to be in the first cabinet under Mugabe in 1980. The VP sported cornrows as a hairstyle- in vogue then, at 25 years, uneducated just like most of her peers.
It took a lot of support and encouragement from Mugabe himself to upgrade themselves in their new-found power and influence. He had a high regard for education to the very end.
Himself, a gifted public speaker who gave fiery speeches most especially when dealing with western powers or say boxing imaginary enemies.
Boy oh boy, the man could hold a crowd pounding the podium. Mugabe could be acerbic if needs be-all fire and brimstone, the fluency a manifest of seven acquired degrees including Law and English from the Universities including Fort Hare University of South Africa.
The rest of the degrees from a total of twenty-one credited to his name were honoraries from other Zimbabwean and world universities.
Mugabe was famed for that feat as the most widely read head of State then.
Subsequently, Mujuru went on to acquire a doctorate in the process taking up roles as minister of government as well as ZANU- PF structures.
Now she seems to have left the political stage for good, after having been demoted unceremoniously in the heat of factional wars that bedevilled Zanu-PF in the early 2000s.
In the melee, she was accused of plotting to topple Robert Mugabe through assassination and using witchcraft to curry favour with the generality of Zimbabweans.
She was a political powerhouse judging by her support across the country’s ten provinces hence the other accusation of dividing the Zanu PF party.
Mujuru’ biggest sin was to belong to a camp for Weevils, those that sought succession under Mugabe.
Then there was the powerful ‘Gamatox’ faction colloquially named after a potent agri-poison against terminates, pests and grain weevils popular by farmers. Those in the camp enjoyed the status quo and to them, Mugabe was Godsend, not to be challenged.
Mujuru was found wanting, and demoted from government and Zanu-PF party ranks. She sulked into a corner for a while and tried a comeback in a partnership that saw the birth of a new political party ahead of the 2018 general elections.
The National People’s Party which contested for general elections on July 31, 2018 under the People’s Rainbow Coalition, a grouping of various smaller parties had the slogan ‘People First.’ It was a weaker project coming sixth as a presidential candidate and she finally called time on her career.
Since then, Dr. Mujuru has taken up magnificent work as a farmer of sorts including tobacco at her farm 40 kilometers south of Harare. It is a role she is relishing with gusto on top of having wonderful family time.
Upon his demise in 2011, her late husband Solomon left vast riches and a business empire including farms, mines, real estate, and pharmaceutical companies such that she was then believed to be among the richest people in the country and set to live a comfortable life.
Regardless, talking about succession under Mugabe was tantamount to daring a lion it’s den.
And far from it, Dr Mujuru has also now taken body fitness seriously shedding much of her weight such that she recently triggered quite a stir when her slim body photos surfaced online.
With Zimbabwe going to the polls next month, Dr Mujuru’ s silence is telling. She is watching everything from the terraces- a once powerful force who now even shuns national commemorative events.
In her prime years, her story and that of fellow guerrillas in the war were used in campaigns against the opposition.
She was painted as an extraordinary woman with an extra liver, a woman of valour to such an extent that at one time she was poised as a natural successor to Robert Mugabe.
Her war exploits involved downing an enemy helicopter in Zambia. Citizens lived to such stories as an election diet, fed continually in glamorous ways extolling the unthinkably colourful work of most liberation fighters.
This bolstered the liberation war narrative. It had a human face, yarns knitted to win voters. Never would the country be led by the latter-day main opposition under the late Morgan Tsvangirai then now Nelson Chamisa. Surrendering power would have been akin to going to bed with the imperialist colonizer once again. Zimbabwe’s Independence was hard-fought and hard-won.
Just before she was fired from the party, Dr Mujuru’ watched helplessly as First Lady Grace Mugabe disparaged her in entertaining and sometimes blood-cuddling rallies full of threats to enemies. These meet the people tour were meant to canvass support for Grace’s own leadership ambitions under the G40 banner.
Wild accusations were told, aspersions cast on her name and to avoid being dragged into the rabbit hole, she endured quietly.
But when Dr. Mujuru finally took the skids. The chopper story behind enemy lines was vehemently dispelled, pummelled, and relegated to the dustbins of oblivion as a fable without substantial evidence.
Her war exploits were blown to smithereens like pottery. At one time, she came out saying she was not getting any notable government pensions as a former Vice President, the money was little, no government house neither bodyguards nor domestic staff to help her. As citizens, we shook heads in indignation. Her colleagues had won. History always glorifies the victors.
In another telling case of utter lies Grace Mugabe herself had ‘corruptly’ acquired a doctorate degree in philosophy from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ). The shameful case led President Munangagwa to suspend Professor Levy Nyagura, vice-chancellor of the institution.
The doctorate was meant to bolster Grace’s standing as she garnered for the Presidency under the tutelage of he husband Robert Mugabe who was education-savvy. Grace was a trained secretary doing clerical work in the Presidency when she met Mugabe.
Nonetheless, another ambiguity hovers around President Emmerson Munangagwa who has a reputation as a master strategist politically but is unforgiving towards his enemies.
Those against him cite his history as a dangerous man who did most of Mugabe’ s hatchet jobs, waging brutal campaign trials for Zanu-PF
Prior to assuming power to lead the so called ‘New Republic’, President Mungangagwa held a considerable number of ministerial posts in Robert Mugabe’s cabinet.
Apart from a long-held post from war times as Mugabe’s bodyguard, and confidante for over 40 years, he rose through the ranks of Zanu-PF and the government enjoying Mugabe’s good graces.
A lawyer by profession trained at the University of Zambia as he says. Many have dismissed the claim as frivolous raising questions on the dates he attended, the alma mater itself, and his former classmates as the degree program could not be verified and ascertained. If proof is there, it has been a jealously guarded secret not in the public domain.
It largely remains a vexing conundrum and no one has stepped up to put it to bed. Nobody has claimed they were together at school with him during the tumultuous years of Africa’s struggle for liberation.
Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the then USSR is credited for saying “I knew the party was dead when all we could do was talk about past glories”.
This statement tugs at the heartstrings. Zimbabwe needs a new narrative. The war cries are a tired slogan by the elite.
Citizens need jobs, a strong currency, a vibrant healthcare and education system, and integration of the country into the family of nations among other things. Above all, citizens should enjoy the wealth from replete mineral resources such as gold, platinum, diamond, chrome, and lithium that have recently taken centre stage. These are largely mortgaged to extractive foreign investors who take away a lion’s share of the profits turning a blind eye to the needs of the country.
