Mujuru falls from Grace

Zimbabwe's vice-president has been ousted from the ruling party's leadership after a sustained campaign led by Robert Mugabe's wife Grace, as the battle to succeed the long-serving president heats up.

Joice Mujuru came under attack after Grace Mugabe accused her of corruption and fomenting factionalism which, she said, was threatening to tear Zanu-PF apart.

She has also been accused of plotting to assassinate the president, as factions within the party jostle for power when 90-year-old Mugabe steps down or dies.

Yesterday, it emerged that Mujuru's bid to seek re-election to the party's central committee was foiled when Zanu-PF rejected her election papers ahead of a key party congress next week.

"A number of other Zanu-PF bigwigs linked to her nefarious activities to oust President Mugabe also [failed] to make it," the state-run Herald newspaper said.

Mujuru, who is regarded as a moderate and Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa were seen as the leading contenders to replace Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980.

Analysts say Mnangagwa, who is regarded as a hardliner, has been strengthened by the sidelining of Mujuru, even though he has yet to show his hand.

Mugabe is expected to be confirmed as party chief at next week's Zanu-PF congress, but the fight for positions on the powerful politburo could be decisive for the campaign to succeed him.

With Mnangagwa's faction enjoying the backing of Mugabe, the only game in town is patience and the justice minister's name has not emerged in the race for the party's two vice-president posts, one of which is reserved for a woman.

The succession battle escalated after Grace Mugabe's surprise nomination to lead the women's wing of Zanu-PF, prompting speculation that she wanted the top job.

Mujuru's failure to win a place in the central committee means she is no longer in the party's top leadership before the congress starts on December 3.

At the congress Grace Mugabe is set to become a member of the politburo - the party's supreme decision-making body - and would play an active role in the choice of her husband's successor.