Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) leader Joice Mujuru yesterday accused President Robert Mugabe of looting and living lavishly while the majority of Zimbabweans wallowed in abject poverty.
BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
The former vice-president said Mugabe was being insensitive to people’s needs and accused him of building his power base around regional lines.
She claimed Mugabe fired her from government in 2014 because she had embarked on projects to empower ordinary Zimbabweans.
Mujuru appealed to war veterans to “liberate” Zimbabweans who were living in situations worse than those before independence.
“Mugabe wants people to suffer, that is why he fired me when I started programmes to empower people,” she said.
The ZimPF leader was addressing about 2 000 people at Mashavira shopping complex in her maiden rally in Beitbridge.
Mujuru said the Zanu PF government had led people into abject poverty.
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“He continues to loot, but for how long will he live? That is why we are saying this train [Zimbabwe] has been derailed and we should put it back on track by removing him,” she said.
“War veterans still have a job to do and have to go back to the people and educate them on these evils of this government. This is not what we fought for.”
Mujuru said Mugabe continued to blame Zimbabwe’s situation on sanctions forgetting that he insults countries from which he needs help.
“Sanctions, yes, but how about your foul mouth?”
Mugabe was failing to go to the people and did not apologise for mistakes he had made, she said in reference to the Gukurahundi massacres.
The former VP said the government had a tendency of imposing programmes on its citizens, citing bond notes as an example. She said people had not been consulted and the surrogate currency was being forced on unwilling people.
“They also introduced Statutory Instrument 64/2016 but the industry is not working. What do they expect people to do? We inherited a country with a functioning industry,” she said.
Mujuru said the repressive nature of government was evil and brutalising people for demonstrating against misrule was not a solution.
She said police were sent to beat up instead of protecting people.
Mujuru, who was accompanied by her party’s national coordinator Dzikamai Mavhaire, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, Christopher Ndiweni and other members of the national steering committee, said they would wallop Zanu PF in the 2018 elections.
