Zimbabwe: Former vice president launches opposition party to challenge Mugabe

Joice Mujuru, former vice president of President Mugabe has officially launched her opposition party on Tuesday in Harare.

“This is a day of great significance in our country’s political history,” Mujuru said.

The party, Zimbabwe People First, will challenge President Robert Mugabe in the 2018 presidential elections.

“Today we confirm our existence as a viable, inclusive home-grown political party. We are not fighting one man but a system, that system which is unjust,” Mujuru added.

Mujuru was Mugabe’s vice president until she was fired in 2014. President Mugabe accused her of planning to remove him from power.

Mujuru’s party has criticised economic empowerment laws of the ZANU-PF party considered as hostile to investors.

“The scourge of corruption will need to be totally uprooted,” she added while urging other political parties to join her to prepare for the 2018 presidential election.

The ZANU-PF party considers the new party as a “gathering of losers.”

“We will defeat them anytime. We are ready for them. What is it that they want to tell us that they couldn’t do for 34 years when they were with us in the (ZANU-PF) party? “ Savior Kasukuwere of the ZANU-PF party told reporters.

The new party will be managed by an interim management team until leaders are elected during a convention this year.

President Mugabe and Mujuru were active during the 1970s independence war.