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VICE President Joice Mujuru struck a presidential pose and tone in her press statement released exclusively to the private media, principally The Daily News and NewsDay on Monday, in which she expressed her wish to serve Zimbabwe in any capacity if so elected by the people whom she thanked for supporting her in the face of the damaging allegations of corruption, extortion, bribery and abuse of office, among other things, that have been raised against her.

We wish to state from the outset that we do not hold a brief for anyone in Zanu-PF but make the following purely in line with our brief of educating and informing the nation. In her adverts, VP Mujuru claimed she was “an elected servant of the people of Zimbabwe” which implied that she was elected to the Office of Vice President. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The only member of the executive elected by universal suffrage is President Mugabe who then appoints the other members of the executive from the pool of MPs elected countrywide, including non-constituency MPs he appoints.

Dr Mujuru was elected National Assembly member by the people of Mount Darwin North, and was then appointed to the executive to serve at the pleasure of the President, who holds the nationwide mandate.

In fact, until the year 2023 when the constitutional provision providing for running mates for the presidential contest is supposed to come into being, anyone who assumes the post of Vice President serves at the pleasure of the President of the Republic who we all know is President Mugabe, at least until his tenure ends in 2018.

It is also our hope that in light of prevailing developments in Zanu-PF where, even without being directly elected by the people, the Vice President stands accused of creating a rival centre of power, the running mate clause can be revisited in line with the age-old wisdom of a stitch in time saving nine at a later stage.

Back to the issue at hand. In her statement VP Mujuru spoke to the nation like an elected office holder and did not really dispute the allegations against her serve to attack us and our sister paper,

The Sunday Mail, for allegedly maligning her name. We wish to put it on record for the benefit of the VP and any senior politicians of like mind in Zanu-PF, we respect the leadership for the mandate they hold but when that mandate is abused for personal aggrandisement as we hear has been happening in the case of the VP, we have a duty to expose it to the nation in the hope that all other subsequent processes that should deliver the justice of such cases will naturally follow the exposes.

We do not hold the view of the law as a spider’s web that catches only mosquitoes and other small insects letting bigger vermin like rats and lizards to run riot. Over the past few weeks, disturbing reports of the Vice President’s dealings have emerged, and in all cases her name and office were touted to swing things to her advantage, in circumstances that bordered on abuse of office.

As we report elsewhere in this issue, the VP is again at the centre of another scandal where the victim is an ordinary person while her tormentors are people connected to the vice president, principally her daughter Nyasha Nyorovai Del Campo.

What is really disturbing is that when such things were brought to the VP’s attention, she sided with her daughter, instead of the defenceless victims who look up to her for protection.

Such people are now looking for and hoping to find justice in the prevailing situation. And we understand there are many in similar circumstances, a development that makes Dr Mujuru’s position in the party and Government quite untenable.

We found it quite odd that the VP feels that calls for her resignation in such circumstances are unconstitutional. Again nothing could be further from the truth. For all appointed officials there are three ways of leaving office: Completion of tenure, dismissal or resignation.

The Constitution actually provides for the removal of appointed officers from office, as such the calls the VP faces are very constitutional.
What may actually be unconstitutional is seeking to hang onto that lofty office in the face of such damaging allegations. We hope all of similar mind will take note.