Reports at the weekend suggested that as ailing First Lady Grace Mugabe is determined to consolidate her drive towards power, she was now eyeing the Harare East parliamentary seat, left vacant by MDC Renewal secretary-general Tendai Biti.
NewsDay Editorial
Biti and 20 others, were recalled last week after crossing the floor to the breakaway faction led by former Senator Sekai Holland, and chaired by former Morgan Tsvangirai lieutenant Samuel Sipepa Nkomo. Regrettably, Grace’s move could leave her embarrassed given the voting patterns in Harare and other urban areas across the country, where Zanu PF has never found acceptance since the emergence of the united MDC on the political scene in 2000.
We believe, whoever is pushing to have the First Lady contest in the constituency is setting her up for a huge fall. Perhaps the best Grace can do is to seek a parliamentary seat in areas where Zanu PF is traditionally dominant.
Not that we care about her, we wish to remind Grace that together with her husband, they have done more harm than good to Zimbabwe especially by Mugabe’s continued stay on power.
The fact that MDC-T dominance in urban seats is under threat as Zanu PF works on grabbing the opposition seats following the recent dismissal from Parliament of 21 MDC Renewal MPs does not mean Grace would suddenly become a darling to the people – not by any chance. It is unfortunate that Zanu PF apparatchiks and the Godwills Masimirembwa-led Harare provincial executive and the Godfrey Gomwe-led provincial youth wing — eager to please Mugabe and his wife have already started moves to approach Grace to convince her to stand in Harare East.
This is a move that is likely to leave them with egg on face. Grace, who is the party’s secretary for Women’s League, was now reportedly ready to become the Minister of Women’s Affairs, left vacant after Oppah Muchinguri was moved to the Higher Education portfolio.
If this is just an external push, then Grace should be wise enough not to succumb to such unprecedented boot-licking that will definitely leave her with her tail between her legs should she contest in the election for the Harare East seat.
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Grace was last year endorsed as Zanu PF Women’s League boss after she was reportedly approached by the Muchinguri executive. But it turned out that Grace herself, with the support of a few party hawks, engineered her political rise which coincided with the fall of former Vice-President Joice Mujuru.
Given the way that she has been so hungry for power since she entered the political fray last year, that she may be eyeing the seat cannot be ruled out.
She must not be fooled by her sudden “popularity” during her whirlwind tour – which proved she still needs serious political handholding – and go for the dash in Harare East.
Instead of concentrating on rebuilding the economy, Mugabe’s advanced age at 91, coupled with Grace’s uncaring attitudes toward Zimbabweans, has left many families struggling to put food on the table.
While Mugabe is focusing on foreign trips, his wife is pulling all stops by grabbing everything and amassing wealth for her family. We believe that Zimbabweans must stop her on her tracks at least, by voting against her.
In fact, anything that is Mugabe should not find favour at the ballot box. Zimbabwe is a democracy and, therefore, should not allow the creation of family dynasties at the expense of the majority. Zanu PF should be wise enough.
