Opinion: 50 shades of Grace Mugabe
Grace Mugabe
From a typist to Zimbabwe's First Lady, Grace Mugabe has been unapologetic, arrogant and ambitious
Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe's journey of life appears to be a fantasy or akin to an animated world of Hollywood, where the princess, who lived her life in distress met her prince charming and live happily forever. But 'happily ever after' is certainly not the case with Grace Mugabe.
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"Gucci Grace" pictured with her husband in Vietnam in 2001. (AFP)
From a typist to the most powerful lady in the Zimbabwe, her lifestyle has an iridescent all negative shades. From being unapologetically arrogant to uncomparably ambitious, she was a synonym of nasty.
She was born in Benoni, Johannesburg, in a middle-class family but Grace had certainly bigger dreams for herself. She was married to Stanley Goreraza, an air force pilot from Zimbabwe and has a son.
Soon after that, she started working as a typist in president's office, where she met Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe. In some time, they started having an affair. At that time, Robert was married to his first wife Sally Hayfron but she was terminally ill.
Robert is 40 years older than Grace. Love might have certain boundaries but ambition does not have any. After the death of Sally Hayfron, ambitious Grace got married to Robert Mugabe in a lavish ceremony. She has three children with Robert.
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Grace and Robert got married in the year 1996. (Others)
As far as her education is concerned, she was given the doctoral degree in sociology in the year 2014 but her dissertation is still not available in the archive of University of Zimbabwe.
She was given the doctoral degree in sociology in the year 2014. (AFP)
Western media has named her 'Gucci Grace' just because of her lavish lifestyle and extravagant spending on luxuries. The European Union even put a travel ban on her. The EU attempts to put an end to her expensive trips in European countries while her citizen suffers. Once she spent USD 120000 on a short shopping spree in Paris, France. After the travel ban, she started visiting China and Malaysia to shop. She also has mansions in China and Malaysia.
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Grace Mugabe shows off her pearl jewellery as she arrives for the opening of Parliament in Harare. (Reuters)
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She launched construction of two palaces in Zimbabwe, one of which was sold to Muammar Gaddafi, another leader of her kind.
She has a habit of being in the news for all the possible wrong reasons. Once she assaulted a model and later a British journalist because of which she surfaced in the media for quite some time. She was an attention seeker. Her lifestyle has earned the name "Dis-Grace" at home.
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Grace Mugabe spotted with her husband Robert Mubage in Paris. (AFP)
Initially, she stayed out of politics and was better known for her spending habits, such as rare diamond jewellery, and Rolls-Royce limousines for her playboy sons.
But later her political ambition was very much clear by her imprudent actions. When Majuru was expelled from the party, Grace became head of the ZANU-PF Women’s League that gave her a seat at the party’s top table.
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There are claims that the money funding her lifestyle came from the country's diamonds. (AP)
Emmerson Mnangagwa was president's ally and also likely to be President's successor but Grace used her political platform to take on Mnangagwa and his allies, eventually firing him from the party.
She emerged to be the most powerful lady in Zimbabwe, but her inappropriate lifestyle is the reason why many anticipated her downfall, and now its happening. She could have used her power and stature to improve the standard of living of thousands of Zimbabweans. Like her rise, even her downfall is dramatic as a feature film. A film that ends with a question, where did the sorceress go?
(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).