The chickens are coming home to roost for Vice-President Joice Mujuru-literally. She is now accused of importing chickens from Brazil at a time when the importation of chickens was banned in Zimbabwe. According to The Herald Mujuru is alleged to have directed the Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Ringson Chitsiko to issue her family business a permit to import the chickens despite the ban. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Christopher Mutsvangwa who named Mujuru as the culprit said Mujuru and Chitsiko were close connections and he knew about this from his days as Zimbabwe’s ambassador to China. He also said the importation of chickens was meant to sabotage the land reform programme. Mujuru has been under attack since First Lady Grace Mugabe accused her of being corrupt and trying to oust President Robert Mugabe at the party congress next month. Since then there has been a purge of her supporters. Six provincial chairmen have already been suspended. It is almost like a replay of 2004 when Mujuru was forced onto the throne. And if Grace is right that she was the one who campaigned for Mujuru’s meteoric rise, she is definitely winning her battle to get rid of her. But ZANU-PF has said that voting at this year’s congress will be by secret ballot. In the past voting was by show of hands and by province. At the just ended Movement for Democratic Change Congress, Douglas Mwonzora, who had only been endorsed by one province won the poll by more than 700votes to beat Nelson Chamisa who had been endorsed by 11 provinces. The fate of Mujuru, therefore now depends on the grassroots. But some people argue that Mwonzora won because he had the backing of party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
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