Africa News, HARARE - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has installed the country's first woman Vice President, two days after his ruling ZANU-PF endorsed her for a similar party position.

"Today was the swearing of Vice-President (Joyce) Mujuru as vice president of the state of Zimbabwe," Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba told Reuters on Monday.

At the weekend Mugabe appealed for unity among party officials after a four-day conference which saw internal wrangling over the nomination of Mujuru in favour of speaker of parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa, earlier seen as his likely heir.

Mugabe defended the appointment of Mujuru -- formerly Water Resources and Infrastructure Development minister -- as being in line with a 1999 resolution to elevate a woman to the vice presidency of ZANU-PF.

Last week the ruling party suspended seven top party officials who allegedly convened a secret meeting to push for Mnangagwa's candidacy.

Mujuru, 49, who fought as a teenager in Zimbabwe's 1970's guerrilla war of independence from Britain, will serve as vice-president alongside Joseph Msika, who like Mugabe is in his 80s.

Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, won another six years in office in 2002 polls which both the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and several Western observers said were rigged.

The veteran leader insists he won fairly and accuses the Western of spearheading a campaign to oust him over his drive to forcibly redistribute white-owned farms among landless blacks. (Reuters)




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