{Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace has declared herself fit after making her first public appearance in over a month. }
The 49-year-old First Lady had been last seen in public at the end of April when she attended the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in the second city of Bulawayo.
Her reappearance comes days after her political nemesis, Mrs Joice Mujuru, the former vice-president the First Lady played a key role in ousting, publicly dismissed described President Mugabe’s administration as a “failure.”
Mrs Mujuru was tipped to succeed Mugabe before she was fired from the ruling Zanu PF party and government for allegedly plotting to kill the 91-year-old leader.
The widow of Zimbabwe’s first black army commander, the late Solomon Mujuru, said her sacking was inevitable.
“For my own role in this failure, I am truly sorry and I apologise to my fellow Zimbabweans,” she said.
“This humbling experience (her sacking) has afforded me an opportunity to reflect on the higher ideals of the armed struggle and with sadness, I have had to digest the many shortcomings in delivery.
“It is a time in our history for contrition and reflection, for cleansing and for divinity of faith.”
Zanu PF has fired over 100 top officials including Mrs Mujuru since its congress in December as the fight to succeed Zimbabwe’s only leader since independence intensifies.
As for the First Lady, she has missed a series of important Zanu PF party meetings after she was elevated to secretary for women in the purge she engineered last year that consumed Mrs Mujuru and ten cabinet ministers.
Her long absence sparked speculation that she had returned to Singapore where she underwent an operation to remove her appendix.
The First Lady spent close to two months between December 2014 and February this year recuperating in Singapore amid rumours she suffers from colon cancer.
Power positioning
However, State media on Thursday reported she had addressed a meeting of the Zanu PF women’s league on Wednesday where she said it was normal to have occasional health worries.
“Our bodies will always ache but these issues can always be addressed. That is why we go for treatment,” she was quoted as saying.
“We thank God because sometimes you’re in pain but do not know what the problems are; however, once the ailment is diagnosed you get treated and continue to work for the country.
“I am now very strong. I have the same energy I had last year.”
President Mugabe himself has been making frequent trips to Singapore for medical treatment.
He has admitted that he has eye problems but there is speculation that he suffers from prostate cancer.
At the height last year’s party purge, there was speculation that President Mugabe’s wife was positioning herself to take over from Zimbabwe’s only ruler since independence in 1980.
However, subsequent to the Zanu PF December 2014 congress, she has been rarely seen in public and has become less vocal.
On Wednesday, she appealed for reconciliation in the party, saying those who confess to have been misled by Mrs Mujuru should be forgiven.
“If people have apologised and admitted they were badly misled but have now realised the error of their ways, we should forgive them,” she said.
“We should have a spirit of forgiveness.”
The First Lady accused the former vice-president of corruption and plotting to kill her husband, an accusation Mrs Mujuru has repeatedly denied.
The ouster of Mrs Mujuru and what was said to her faction led directly to the elevation of long-term Mugabe loyalist Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was appointed vice-president and heir apparent in her stead
{{Africa Review}}
Leave a Reply