A PICTURE depicting a frail-looking First Lady Grace Mugabe has gone viral.
By staff reporter
The picture, which appears to have been taken inside State House, shows Grace looking very wasted standing next to another woman, whose face could not be identified as she was looking away from the camera.
President Robert Mugabe was seated on a sofa, shaking hands with a man wearing a shirt with South African national flag colours. Presidential spokesperson George Charamba was not reachable to clarify on the authenticity of the pictures.
Grace’s health has remained a mystery with sources claiming that she was out of the country where she was receiving medical treatment.
The picture went viral on social media yesterday, particularly WhatsApp and Facebook. Mugabe in January told Zanu PF supporters who had gathered at Harare International Airport to welcome him back home from the Far East where he had spent six weeks holidaying that Grace had remained in Singapore recovering from surgery to remove a nagging appendix.
But a few days after Grace returned home, she reportedly slipped out of the country to Dubai to receive further treatment, triggering speculation that she was suffering from a more serious ailment than appendicitis as her husband had said.
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Close sources claimed Grace was battling colon cancer which has metastasised. Last year, Grace dominated Zimbabwe’s political space after her nomination to lead the Zanu PF Women’s League. But this year, Grace has not made a public appearance since March 8 when she officiated during commemorations to mark International Women’s Day.
A source privy to the development said Grace was battling colorectal cancer that started from the left side of the abdomen, which is the deadliest side.
According to the American Cancer Society: “Colorectal cancer is a term used to refer to cancer that develops in the colon or the rectum and can sometimes be referred to separately as colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on where they start”.
“The left side is the most dangerous. It is can spread easily to the other parts of the bowels,” the source said.
The source said Grace was very critical when she left the country recently for Dubai. He said Grace’s cancer was diagnosed in the country but pressure was mounting on her doctors for failing to spot it early enough before it spread.
“Cancer of the colon is a deadly disease and very few people will make it,” the source said.
Charamba at the weekend defended Grace and Mugabe’s foreign visits for treatment, saying they did not lead ordinary lives as the First Family.
