Harare- When Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe elevated his wife Grace to be the boss of ZANU PF Women’s League, with the intention of positioning her to take over from him when he would retire, little did he knew that he was laying down the first brick of foundation to his fall.
Mugabe had done his homework well, and as it stood at that time nothing could have stopped his plan. The proof of that plot could be seen from what happened soon after the firing of Mnangagwa. Mugabe got down to business, busy working on the amending of the ruling party’s Constitution again in order to slot in a clause that would provide for the one of the two president’s posts deputies to be reserved for a woman.
The first time the same scenario happened was when Joice Mujuru was appointed Vice-President. At that time, Mnangagwa was the one who was supposed to have been appointed to the post left vacant after the death of Simon Muzenda, but Mugabe went on to amend the ruling party’s constitution to provide for a gap for a woman in the presidium.
That was the same route he wanted to take with a similar motive, this time, to elevate his wife to the highest office in the land. His plan got widespread approval from all his party structures from bottom to top, across the country’s ten provinces. His backers had already started proposing that Grace be elevated to replace the ousted Mnangagwa.
Flashback, Grace’s promotion to be the ZANU PF Women’s League chairperson, came as a blessing in disguise for Mnangagwa. Mugabe could have known better, that his wife was not material for the political landscape, or else, the poor old man succumbed to the bedroom coup at the hands of a young hallucinating wife, who doesn’t know how to tame her tongue.
This, had its foundation in that Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri was instrumental in calling for Grace, to be appointed Women’s League chairperson.
Muchinguri Kashiri, was one of the senior members of Mnangagwa’s faction, Team Lacoste, and at present, she occupies the third most important position in ZANU PF as party chairperson in the current ruling party under Mnangagwa.
At one time, when President Mnangagwa travelled outside the country, he appointed her to act in his capacity.
However, either Grace was brought into the party politics by her husband, or was it a team Lacoste’s move, both add up to the same conclusion, that Mnangagwa, knowing Grace’s weakness and foolishness exploited it to his own benefit.
As chairperson of the ZANU PF Women’s League, Grace who was now qualified to preside on various party gatherings made several reckless and childish statements, which exposed her idiocy to the general populace. However, people could not show it to her face, who on earth could tell a dictator’s wife that she is stupid and continue to live?
Peter Nyoni is a Zimbabwean businessman, he travels frequently between Harare and South Africa
