{Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe on Thursday announced her candidacy to succeed her husband, 90-year-old president Robert Mugabe, when he leaves office.}<\/p>\n
“People say I want to be president, why not? Am I not a Zimbabwean?” the 49-year-old said when addressing veterans of the country’s liberation struggle in Mazowe at about 40km north of Harare.<\/p>\n
Mugabe called on Vice President Joice Mujuru – regarded as one of the top contenders to succeed the president – to resign.<\/p>\n
“There are plenty of people who can run this country, not Mujuru,” she said, adding that her husband’s deputy would take Zimbabwe “back to where we were before independence.”<\/p>\n
Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since 1980, has travelled several times for medical care abroad, sparking speculation that he could step down before his term ends in 2018.<\/p>\n
Mugabe has meanwhile been appointed to head the women’s league of the ruling party Zanu-PF.<\/p>\n
The first lady’s political ambitions have faced resistance from Mujuru and others who participated in the liberation struggle against the white minority government of the then Rhodesia – today Zimbabwe – alongside Robert Mugabe.<\/p>\n
Mugabe has also come under fire for a doctorate she obtained from the University of Zimbabwe in September – allegedly just months after she enrolled there.<\/p>\n
– SAPA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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