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Dr Joice Mujuru

We have no doubt that Dr Joice Mujuru’s Zimbabwe People First and herself as a political brand, will not resurrect after the drama on Wednesday when she announced the expulsion of seven founder members who, hours later, hit back, announcing their own firing of her.

In fact, the question of whether or not ZimPF will resurrect may not arise because the outfit, in real terms, was only work in progress. The party has not held a congress to officially launch itself. It does not have physical addressees anywhere in the country. There is only an interim structure running its affairs which Dr Mujuru leads.

Fired from Zanu-PF in 2014 for plotting to unseat President Mugabe through undemocratic means, Dr Mujuru  promised much when she and other former ruling party members announced the formation of their party in March last year.

She had the likes of Messers Rugare Gumbo, Didymus Mutasa, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, Dzikamai Mavhaire, Ray Kaukonde, Munacho Mutezo, Jabulani Sibanda, Elliot Kasu, John Shumba Mvundura, Retired Colonel Claudius Makova. Eleven months down the line, she has fallen out with the old guard, announcing the expulsion of seven of them at a Press conference at her Harare residence. She mentioned Messers Gumbo, Mutasa, Bhasikiti, Makova, Mutezo, Lucky Kandemiri and Dr Margaret Dongo whom she accuses of plotting against her and working as Zanu-PF agents.

Two hours later, Gumbo and company convened their own media conference and rejected the sackings. They were scathing in their assessment of Dr Mujuru’s leadership credentials. They took turns to cast her as a shallow mind, dictator and nepotist.

Yesterday, more heavies left ZimPF, among them top financier, Mr Kaukonde, war veteran and former ambassador Agrippa Mutambara and her long time personal assistant and former minister in her office during her time in government, Mr Sylvester Nguni.

Dr Mujuru might attempt to put on a brave face, pretending to demonstrate authority but the goings-on in her party since Wednesday are terminal for her grouping as a political entity and possibly her political career. These are the men and a woman who stood by her for 10 years when she was scheming to stage a coup against President Mugabe until their sacking in 2014.  They organised for her and actually thought for her, as some in Zim-PF have said. They were her strongest supporters then until two days ago. With their experience, they probably gave her some advice.

Mr Gumbo said the purported expulsions were unconstitutional, thus a nullity. Dr Mujuru, he said, had “declared war on us . . . Yes, we have lost confidence in her (and) I do not think she is the right leader. We no longer recognise her as our leader.”

Out there alone, Dr Mujuru’s longstanding shortcomings have been laid bare.

Retired Colonel Makova was brutal in his assessment of her grasp of weightier issues.

“What we did not know is that she is ignorant,” he blasted. “Havana chavanoziva (She does not know anything). From day one, it will be an understatement to say she is incompetent. She went to Chatham House and while addressing people, she answered her phone. Can you say that is a leader?

We have made these observations before on these pages and are shocked that the elders of her party only realised that two days ago.

Apart from signalling what we argue is the demise of ZimPF before it rose, the drama that is unfolding is also important in highlighting whether or not the coalition being worked on by the party and other opposition entities would come to fruition and if it does whether it would make any electoral impact.

What will she bring to it without the weight of the seven founders she sacked without conducting disciplinary hearings? Will MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai genuinely view her as a useful partner he can rely on even as he is battling internal opposition to the alliance, a battle that can actually result in a split of his party? We doubt he does.

To prove that she will not bring much, Dr Mujuru has held rallies across the country, but has totally failed to raise any crowds of note.  She does not inspire anyone with her poor grasp of important issues. Her party recently lost a parliamentary by-election by a large margin.  There is therefore nothing to suggest that she would become a political force to bring anything to the alliance or anywhere else. Soon Mr Tsvangirai will realise that the Mujuru risk is not worth taking given the possible implications for his own party and his political career as well.

Indeed it is all over bar the shouting, the coalition, instead of strengthening the parties, is actually weakening them. This was highlighted by Wednesday’s split of ZimPF and deep divisions that have been reported as happening in MDC-T over the same question. Mr Tsvangirai’s deputy, Ms Thokozani Khupe is clearly against the alliance and has made herself clear, incurring the wrath of her boss who is driving towards it.