26 Facts About Joice Mujuru

Joice Mujuru was married to Solomon Mujuru until his death in 2011 and was long considered a potential successor to President Robert Mugabe, but in 2014 she was denounced for allegedly plotting against Mugabe.

Joice Mujuru was expelled from the party a few months later, after which she formed the new Zimbabwe People First party.

Joice Mujuru attended a Salvation Army mission school, Howard High in Chiweshe in Mashonaland Central Province.

At eighteen years old, Joice Mujuru was the only woman who trained in Lusaka.

Joice Mujuru is said to have downed a helicopter with a machine gun on 17 February 1974 after refusing to flee.

At 21, Joice Mujuru was camp commander at the Chimoio military and refugee camp in Mozambique.

Joice Mujuru took the nom-de-guerre Teurai Ropa Nhongo, and then rose to become one of the first women commanders in Mugabe's ZANLA forces.

In 1977, she married Solomon Joice Mujuru, known then by his nom-de-guerre Rex Nhongo, deputy commander-in-chief of ZANLA.

Joice Mujuru managed to elude capture by hiding in a well-used communal pit latrine.

Joice Mujuru's mother, in an interview for The Sunday Mail newspaper at her rural Mount Darwin home, spoke exclusively to journalist and media anthropologist Robert Mukondiwa, to whom she revealed that Joice was a name she had adopted during her time away at the war.

At independence in 1980, Joice Mujuru became the youngest cabinet minister in the cabinet, taking the portfolio of sports, youth and recreation.

Joice Mujuru fitted secondary school in between her busy schedule after she was appointed minister.

On 24 March 1997, Joice Mujuru decided to issue Zimbabwe's second cellular telephone licence to the previously unknown Zairois consortium Telecel, cutting out Masiyiwa.

Joice Mujuru was sworn in as Vice-President of Zimbabwe on 6 December 2004.

Joice Mujuru was nominated as ZANU-PF's candidate for the House of Assembly seat from Mt.

Joice Mujuru is the subject of personal sanctions imposed by the United States.

Joice Mujuru was implicated in a 2009 attempted sale of up to 3.5 tonnes of gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a European company, in contravention of European Union sanctions on the part of that company.

In 2001 the Joice Mujuru family became the subject of the first legal action against any member of Mr Mugabe's inner circle implicated in the illegal seizure of land and assets.

Joice Mujuru was considered a potential successor to President Mugabe, competing against Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Joice Mujuru rallied support among the politburo, central committee and the presidium, and the provincial party chairs.

Joice Mujuru garnered support from the general Zimbabwean population, indicated by the election of her loyalists to the youth league.

In late 2014, Joice Mujuru was accused of plotting against Mugabe and became an outcast within ZANU-PF.

Joice Mujuru lost her positions in the party leadership at the December 2014 congress, and shortly afterward, on 8 December 2014, Mugabe dismissed her from her post as Vice-President, along with ministers who were identified with her faction.

Joice Mujuru was expelled from ZANU-PF on 3 April 2015 and subsequently moved on to form the Zimbabwe People First party, in opposition to ZANU-PF.

Joice Mujuru signed an alliance with 20 smaller parties during the run up to the 2018 Presidential election.

Joice Mujuru was part of the 23 candidates that ran for the Presidency.