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'I won't contest against Mugabe'
08/11/2007 10:55 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's deputy has dismissed reports that she wants to succeed the veteran ruler, say reports.
The Herald newspaper quoted Vice-President Joyce Mujuru as saying: "If there is a person who wants to contest against President Mugabe, it's not me," Mujuru was speaking during a provincial meeting of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF).
She said: "I am shocked about all this I am hearing. The presidium is made up of four people and I am already in the presidium. I am not going anywhere."
Mujuru, who was one of Mugabe's two deputies, said she was content with her current post.
Mugabe 'anoints' Mujuru
According to Mujuru: "I was groomed by Mr Mugabe to what I am. Please don't force me into the presidential throne. Don't force me where I don't fit. Mr Mugabe appointed me to my current position so that I could help him."
When Mugabe elevated Mujuru to vice-president in December 2004, he appeared to have anointed her as his successor by saying she was destined for higher office.
But relations between the two appeared to have cooled after reports linking her to a faction in the party pushing her to take over from Mugabe, who had ruled the country since its independence from Britain in 1980.
Mujuru was the wife of former army chief Solomon Mujuru who remained highly influential in the Zimbabwean government and the military.
Mugabe, 83, had in the past attacked members of his inner circle jostling for the presidency, saying some were consulting traditional healers under the cover of darkness to enhance their chances.
Last year, he declared there was no vacancy for the presidency and in March, Zanu-PF chose him as its candidate for presidential elections next year.
- AFP
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Zimbabwe Special Report
