Resign instead, say analysts Cde Mutsvangwa
Christopher Mutsvangwa

Christopher Mutsvangwa

Herald Reporters
ANALYSTS say the honourable thing for Vice President Joice Mujuru to do is to resign if the allegations of corruption and abuse of office levelled against her by the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe are proved to be true.
In a fired up address to thousands of people who packed Chipadze Stadium in Bindura yesterday, Amai Mugabe accused a female faction leader from Mashonaland Central of involvement in illicit diamond deals, bribery and extorting shareholdings in companies.

Section 106 (2 ) (c) of the Constitution says, every vice president, minister and deputy minister, “may not during their tenure of office use their positions or any information entrusted to them to enrich themselves or improperly benefit any other person’’.

Analysts who spoke to The Herald yesterday said the Vice President’s position in the party was no longer tenable in light of the damaging charges.

“As things now stand revealed, there are no prospects of any normal political life for her within the national body politic.

“She is melting like a pebble of ice in the hot October sun. She is already disparaged in her unanswered claims of fictional war exploits. It turned out she has all along preyed upon obliging post-colonial business interests that vainly sought to unseat the popularly elected President Mugabe,” outspoken war veteran Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa said yesterday.

“She has been soliciting big time bribes as she taxed the national development process. Along the way she has chain sawed the political branch she was perched on. For he (President Mugabe) is the national leader who singularly rewarded her with the generous post independence political prominence that has been a cover for her greed and corruption.”

Cde Mutsvangwa said in the face of such allegations the right thing for the VP to do was to resign.

“Honour seems to be an attribute alien to this affected and simple minded personality. Any other politician with an iota of decency and integrity would have smelled the coffee and do the only right thing, which is to resign. She has shredded her war veteran credentials to shards as she has distanced herself from her war time peers while seeking adulation from new found cheerleaders donated by those who want to abuse her. This is hubris at work indeed.”

University of Zimbabwe political scientist Dr Charity Manyeruke said anyone implicated in corruption should resign.

“If there are people who are implicated in corrupt activities, the best thing for them to do is step down. This is not the first time in Zimbabwe this year. It has happened with PSMAS, Air Zimbabwe, ZBC. Some resigned and some were sidelined because they held public office.

“Some tend to resist stepping down but it is in the interest of the public to step down. If a person is implicated in high level corruption It is good corporate governance practice for someone to step down. We do not want forensic audits to expose you. A good citizen will simply call it a day and live with dignity when implicated especially by a high officer holder also,” Dr Manyeruke said.

Another political analyst Mr Goodwine Mureriwa said the law was supposed to take its course if there was any proof of corruption.

“If you look at issues to do with corporate governance transparency, corruption is diverse and the world over we have seen people resigning. We have seen the Willowgate Scandal were some people have resigned, some were pardoned by the President while others committed suicide in the case of Morris Nyagumbo.

“If there is incriminating evidence the law is supposed to take its course. The trend in our modern politics should be to resign but this is not happening because corruption has been pervasive and ubiquitous to the extent that in Zimbabwean society it is difficult if somebody is very clean. However in the competition for political power one can say one is corrupt without evidence but if it is there and has gone through the due process in court naturally one should resign. One has a right to be heard and tried,” Mr Mureriwa said.

Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo could only say party issues were discussed in the Politburo.

“We were not there when she said it but what we know is that all issues of the party are discussed in the Politburo,” he said.

 

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