FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe all but officially threw in her hat in the Zanu PF succession matrix, saying Vice-Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko were not her seniors and she could not “be counted out”.
By Tatenda Chitagu
Addressing hundreds of Zanu PF supporters bussed in from different parts of Masvingo at Mushayavanhu High School, Grace said no one in the party, besides President Robert Mugabe, was senior to her by virtue of her being the First Lady.
“The Herald lied that I said I am junior to Vice-President Mnangagwa,” she thundered.
“I never said he is my senior. I just said I respect him as the VP and that he is more experienced than me.
“I might be new in Zanu PF, but I am not junior to anyone. I am the wife of the President. I am humble, I say baba (father) to Vice-President Mphoko, but he knows I am senior.
“Some also question why I sit at the front in the politburo near President Mugabe. It is my right to sit at the front in the politburo because VaMugabe is my husband.”
Grace instead praised privately-owned papers, singling out NewsDay, saying journalists had the right to do their jobs, as they would be fed information by their sources in Zanu PF and accused the police of double-standards for arresting scribes.
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In an apparent but subtle juxtaposition of the late Vice-President Simon Muzenda with Mnangagwa, Grace said, in a no-holds-barred one-and-a-half-hour-long speech, that some senior leaders were greedy and only thought of bigger positions, yet they lacked the political gravitas to win votes in an election.
“We have Mai Muzenda here, who is the wife of the late Vice-President Simon Muzenda, who came from here. As VP, Muzenda was very disciplined. We did not hear any day that he aspired to be President. He knew why he went to war. He was a humble and simple man with direction. We lose direction when we have leadership positions,” she said.
“You should self-introspect on your capabilities and see if people can vote for you if we go for elections. You should be satisfied with the position that you were given. People will appoint you depending on work that you are doing. Do not appoint yourself. Give us time and we will appoint you. There are people who think they are clever when they are not.
“There are others who, when they talk of the liberation war history, appear as if they were the only ones who participated. Real fighters who did a lot, do not say it. They are looking for mileage, yet your deeds and the way you live with others determine whether you get respect or not. You did not fight for yourself, but for the country. The villagers here cooked for you during the war and carried equal risk.”
Grace all but declared there was no one good enough to succeed her husband.
“It should not come as a surprise that Mugabe, at 91, continues to lead us. Some of your actions lead Mugabe to continue ruling. He is an open and accessible leader who accommodates anyone and we do not fear him, but we respect him,” she said.
The First Lady said even if Mugabe were to be incapacitated by age, such that a wheelchair would not suffice, she would push him in a wheelbarrow.
Grace warned of instability if Mugabe leaves the political scene, saying he was the only President that Zimbabwe could bank on.
“Mark my words, things will change after him, unless we are given someone who is better. But for now, he is here to stay,” she said.
As has become her trademark, Grace donated several goodies at the rally.
