PROFILE : THE MUJURU COUPLE !

Profile: The Mujuru couple
By Joseph Winter BBC News.

Solomon Mujuru is a former army chief, often seen as Zimbabwe's "king-maker".

Joyce "Spillblood" Mujuru claims to have shot down a helicopter with a machine gunBut after spending more than a decade wielding power from the shadows, he may be about to emerge once more into public life - possibly as president, or maybe as "first man".
His wife, Joyce Mujuru, is vice-president - the first woman to hold such a high-ranking role in Zimbabwe.
If Mr Mujuru wants to combine power with relative anonymity, he may opt to back his wife for the top job - a scenario which many people would interpret as him pulling the real strings.
But Mrs Mujuru has - wisely - denied having any presidential ambitions.
Solomon Mujuru was the director of Robert Mugabe's guerrilla forces during the 1970s war of independence, which ended white minority rule.
Using his "nom de guerre", Rex Nhongo, he is also said to have played a key role in Mr Mugabe's rise to the top of the Zanu party.
Following independence, he carried on doing pretty much the same job - as army chief, becoming a general.
He was also elected MP for the north-eastern Chikomba constituency, before leaving public life in 1995 to concentrate on his business interests.
'Insidious'
But he has always kept his senior role in the ruling Zanu-PF party, where the real power resides.
This could give him some say in how and when Mr Mugabe leaves office.
But despite his long and close ties to Mr Mugabe, he reportedly over-stepped the mark in recent days, meeting the US and UK ambassadors to Zimbabwe.
Even worse treachery - in Mr Mugabe's eyes - would be confirmation of reports that Mr Mujuru had met opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, possible to discuss a government of national unity for the post-Mugabe era.
Mr Mugabe has always portrayed himself as still fighting the colonial struggle - against the west.
He was widely believed to be referring to Mr Mujuru when he said there had been "an insidious dimension where ambitious leaders have been cutting deals with the British and Americans".
"The whole succession debate has given imperialism hope for re-entry. Since when have the British, the Americans, been friends of Zanu-PF?" he asked.
This was a pretty severe put-down for the Mujurus, who come from the same Zezuru branch of Zimbabwe's majority Shona group as Mr Mugabe.
It might suit Mr Mujuru to remain behind the scenes.
"He leads a very private life," one Zanu-PF insider told the BBC News website.
There are very few photos of him around.
Minister in education
Mrs Mujuru, 51, on the other hand, has remained in cabinet ever since 1980, when she was its youngest member.
She left school at the age of 18 to join the war of independence and adopted the name Teurai Ropa (Spill Blood), before marrying Solomon Mujuru in 1977.

Solomon Mujuru reportedly helped Robert Mugabe become party leader. She claims to have shot down a Rhodesian helicopter with the machine-gun of a dying comrade and was later promoted to commander.
After spending her youth fighting the war, she obtained secondary school qualifications and a degree while in government.
Before becoming vice-president, she was best known for blocking a bid to set up Zimbabwe's first mobile phone network in the early 1990s.
This was seen as not only a money-earner but a threat to the government's control of information.
As information minister, she managed to thwart Econet long enough for Telecel, part-owned by her husband, to set up.
She was also one of the biggest beneficiaries of a scheme set up to pay compensation to those injured during the war of independence.
The scheme paid out huge amounts of public money - one of the sparks for Zimbabwe's subsequent economic collapse.
Business interests
The Mujurus are accused of taking over at least one of the farms seized from their white owners in recent years.
Guy Watson-Smith has taken Mr Mujuru to court to seek compensation after his farm was invaded by ruling party supporters.
He says the famous couple are living on the 3,500-acre Alamein farm, 45 miles south of Harare.
He says the infrastructure alone was worth some $2.5m.
He won a court order in December 2001 but is still trying to get either the money or the farm.
Emmerson Mnangagwa is the other man seen as a possible Zanu-PF successor to Mr Mugabe.
He and the Mujurus have been business, as well as political, rivals for more than a decade after Mr Mnangagwa blocked Mr Mujuru's bid to take over the huge Zimasco chrome smelting operation.
Mr Mujuru is also a share-holder in the River Ranch diamond mine.

BBC NEWS REPORT.