Mugabe sacks vice president, ministers in Zimbabwe purge

Zimbabwe’s vice president, once seen as Robert Mugabe’s heir apparent, has been fired along with eight cabinet allies, the government said Tuesday as the veteran leader purged his foes.

As the elderly head of state sought to quell infighting over his successor, the chief secretary to the cabinet, Misheck Sibanda, said in a terse statement that Joice Mujuru had been fired.

Also sacked were her allies in the ministries of energy, public service, and half a dozen other departments, he said.

The move caps a long campaign by Mugabe and his closest lieutenants to isolate the 59-year-old Mujuru and her supporters.

Once seen as the favourite to step into the shoes of Mugabe, who is now 90, she has come under increasing attack, notably from Mugabe’s increasingly powerful wife Grace.

Critics have accused Mujuru of plotting to assassinate the president and of dodgy business dealings.

“It has become evident that her conduct in the discharge of her duties had become inconsistent with the expected standard,” Sibanda said in the statement.

He also blamed Mujuru for “conflict between official responsibilities and private interests”.

Mujuru earlier Tuesday blamed “a well-orchestrated smear campaign and gross abuse of state apparatus” for the loss last week of her powerful position on the ruling party’s central committee.

Her ouster shook Zimbabwean politics.