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A COUPLE of months ago, former Vice President Joice Mujuru, who was expelled from Zanu-PF because of her unbridled and treacherous ambition which saw her seeking to unconstitutionally unseat President Mugabe, issued a statement purporting to apologise for having been part of the revolutionary party. In the statement she issued through the private Press, Dr Mujuru apologised for Zanu-PF’s “failures” and disowned the ruling party and its ideals and sought to project herself as transfigured thanks to some Damascene moment she had experienced.

“For my own role in this failure, I am truly sorry and I apologise to my fellow Zimbabweans,” she said. She added: “This humbling experience has afforded me the opportunity to reflect on the higher ideals of the armed struggle and with sadness, I have had to digest the many shortcomings in delivery. It is a time in our history of contrition and reflection, for cleansing and for divinity of faith.”

We were not exactly surprised by her volte face, which is characteristic of all those whose actions are not rooted in principle. Just this week we witnessed Mujuru release a manifesto titled “Blueprint to Unlock Investment and Leverage for Development” (BUILD).

The most important thing about it is that it solidifies her treachery and rebuttal of the ideals of the liberation struggle chiefly by seeking to reverse the land reform and indigenisation programmes which are the hallmarks of the latter and final stages of this country’s quest for self-determination.

Mujuru was one of the many cadres that fought the armed struggle, the Second Chimurenga, which struggle was continued in the land reform and indigenisation programmes. She seemed committed to what the party was doing and benefited immensely from the same policies despite attempts now to disown them without surrendering everything that has made her who she is in the past 35 years.

The change-over is shocking.

Mujuru has all, but given away her heritage and credentials. What this means is that Joice Mujuru is a lost, wondering soul. She cannot claim any stake in the liberation narrative because she has disowned it and called it a hoax and a mistake. Equally, she cannot pretend to be a poster girl for the ordinary, poor Zimbabwean because she has not shown to be one of them; everybody knows her mean, acquisitive and generally corrupt nature which has made her family one of the richest in the country.

This is the kind of background on which she is seeking to rebuild her political career as a child of, now against, Zanu-PF. There are no prizes for guessing that she will fail spectacularly.

She will not be able to claim liberation credentials — for long a favourable attribute — but she cannot also purport to champion the neo-liberal ideals that the Western-sponsored opposition is identifiable with. Her manifesto has been identified as a veritable theft of ideas and the opposition rightly claimed that she was singing their song and chorus.

We do not expect her to master this song better than its exponents, especially when there is little time between now and the next elections, due in 2018.

This is the shaky ground on which the Mujuru project is built.

Even where there are people ready to embrace her as an addition to the opposition legion, many uncomfortable questions are being asked about her personal integrity, but also about whether she would have turned against Zanu-PF had she not been expelled?

In short, does she have principles enough to lead a country in a global environment where world powers use their financial clout to steal the future of developing, poor nations? An albatross hangs around the neck of Mujuru and it is clear that she will not amount to much. That, besides, has been the way of other cadres who strayed from the revolutionary path.