Grace Mugabe
Mugabe in 2013
First Lady of Zimbabwe
In role
17 August 1996 – 21 November 2017
PresidentRobert Mugabe
Preceded bySally Mugabe
Succeeded byAuxillia Mnangagwa
6th Secretary of the ZANU–PF Women's League
In office
6 December 2014 – December 2017
Preceded byOppah Muchinguri
Succeeded byMabel Chinomona
Personal details
Born
Grace Ntombizodwa Marufu

(1965-07-23) 23 July 1965
Benoni, South Africa[1]
Political partyZANU-PF (2014–2017, expelled)
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1983; div. 1996)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1996; died 2019)​
Children4, including Bona and Robert Mugabe junior
ResidenceHarare, Zimbabwe
EducationRenmin University of China
University of Zimbabwe (disputed)
Occupation
  • Entrepreneur
  • politician
NicknameGucci Grace

Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe (née Marufu; born 23 July 1965)[2] is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur, politician and the widow of the late President Robert Mugabe. She served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996[3] until her husband's resignation in November 2017,[4] a week after he was ousted from power.[5] Starting as a secretary to Mugabe, she rose in the ranks of the ruling ZANU–PF party to become the head of its Women's League and a key figure in the Generation 40 faction. At the same time, she gained a reputation for privilege and extravagance during a period of economic turmoil in the country.[6] She was given the nickname Gucci Grace due to her extravagance.[7] She was expelled from the party, with other G40 members, during the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d'état.

Mugabe was cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2014.[8]

Personal life

Grace Ntombizodwa was born in Benoni, South Africa[9] to migrant parents as the fourth of five children in the family.[10] In 1970, she moved to Rhodesia, to live with her mother, Idah Marufu in Chivhu while her father stayed and worked in South Africa to support his family.[10] She attended primary school in Chivhu and then the Kriste Mambo secondary school in Manicaland.[10]

She married air force pilot Stanley Goreraza[11] and they had a son, Russell Goreraza, born in 1984 when Grace was 19 years old.[12][13]

Whilst working as secretary to the president, Robert Mugabe, she became his mistress at a time when she was still married to Stanley Goreraza – and had two children, Bona born in 1988, named after Mugabe's mother, and Robert Peter Jr.[14]

After the death of Mugabe's first wife, Sally Hayfron, the couple were married in an extravagant Catholic mass titled the "Wedding of the Century" by the Zimbabwe press.[14][15] At the time of their marriage, Grace Marufu was 31 and Robert Mugabe was 72 years old.

Their second child, Robert Mugabe junior, was born in the early 1990s.[16] In 1997, she gave birth to the couple's third child, Chatunga Berlamine Mugabe.[17]

Grace Mugabe enrolled as an undergraduate student at the School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University in China in 2007, studying the Chinese language. She graduated in 2011. She admitted, however, that she was not proficient in Chinese after finishing the degree.[18][19] Her mother Idah Marufu died on 31 August 2018, aged 84.[20]

ZANU-PF

With Akie Abe (in Japan, 28 March 2016)

In late 2014, Grace Mugabe was critical of Vice-President Joice Mujuru, who allegedly plotted against her husband, President Mugabe. Ultimately, the accusations against Mujuru resulted in her elimination as a candidate to succeed Mugabe and her effectively becoming an outcast within ZANU-PF by the time it held a party congress in December 2014.[21]

Meanwhile, Grace Mugabe's political prominence increased. She was nominated as head of the ZANU–PF Women's League, and delegates to the party congress approved her nomination by acclamation on 6 December 2014. In becoming head of the women's league, she also became a member of the ZANU-PF Politburo.[22] Since 2016, the first lady's involvement in ZANU-PF in-house politics has seen rumours pointing out that she is fronting one of the party's secretive factions, the G40 (Generation 40).[23] The other faction, Lacoste, assumingly led by the Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Factionalism in ZANU-PF at the time centered mainly on the Mugabe succession question.

The feud between Grace Mugabe and Mnangagwa reached a tipping point in late September 2017, with both parties pointing fingers to each other on ZANU PF public gatherings. While addressing an audience at Mahofa's memorial service, Mnangagwa claimed he was poisoned at a ZANU PF Youth Interface rally in Gwanda.[24] Soon after Mnangagwa's remarks, President Robert Mugabe called a shock cabinet reshuffle in what many believe to be power-shifting exercise. Mnangagwa, like fellow suspected allies, lost the justice ministry. October 2017 marked Grace Mugabe's peak political influence in ZANU PF.[25]

In November 2017, Grace was instrumental in the firing of the then Vice-President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, after reprimanding him for causing divisions in Zanu PF. Shortly thereafter, Grace expressed her intentions of taking up the Vice-Presidency post. The country was in heightened tension and soon after that while Emmerson Mnangagwa had sought refuge outside of Zimbabwe, the military took over in a bloodless coup under General Constantino Chiwenga. Grace Mugabe was notably invisible at this time with various reports of her whereabouts. On 19 November, Grace Mugabe and 20 of her associates were expelled from the ZANU-PF.[26] When Robert Mugabe died on 6 September 2019, both Mugabes were in Singapore.[27]

Sanctions

After observers from the European Union were barred from examining Zimbabwe's 2002 elections, the EU imposed sanctions on 20 members of the Zimbabwe leadership and then, in July, extended them to include Grace Mugabe and 51 others, banning them from travelling to participating countries and freezing any assets held there.[28] In 2003, the United States instituted similar restrictions.[29]

Controversies

With Robert Mugabe on 4 August 2013

Real estate

During her tenure as first lady, Grace Mugabe oversaw the construction of two palaces. The first, commonly referred to as "Gracelands", was criticised for its extravagance. Grace Mugabe later explained that she had paid for it with her own personal savings.[14] It was later sold to Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. The second was completed in 2007, costing around $50 million. The construction was funded by the ZANU-PF party to thank Robert Mugabe for his political service.[30]

In 2002, Grace Mugabe toured farm properties in Zimbabwe, looking for a new location for herself and her family. She chose the Iron Mask Estate, which had been previously owned by farmers John and Eva Matthews.[31]

The family owns property in Malaysia, and in early 2008, it was reported that Grace Mugabe hoped to move there with her children. The intention behind the move was to escape the stress of leadership and to address fears that the first family faces assassination.[32] She also acquired property holdings in Hong Kong, including a diamond cutting business and a property at Tai Po, New Territories.[33] IOL news speculated that this property acquisition was intended as both a weekend getaway for their daughter, Bona, who was studying at the University of Hong Kong under an assumed name,[34] and that she and her husband expect to escape to China should they be ousted from power in Zimbabwe. Legislators of the pro-democracy movement urged the Hong Kong government to study whether to follow international practice in barring certain foreign politicians as many people might be looking at buying properties, investments, or education in Hong Kong.[35] Lee Wing-tat said Beijing should be making the decision since this was a foreign affair.[35] Spokesperson Jiang Yu from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China said she was not aware of the Mugabes' alleged house purchase in Hong Kong and would not comment further.[36] A professor at the University of Hong Kong said Beijing was trying to stay out of the controversy.[35] The Beijing central government dismissed the concerns, adding that Falun Gong members were allowed to buy properties in Hong Kong.[35]

It was reported in 2015 that Zimbabwe was involved in a legal dispute over the ownership of the property in Tai Po in which Bona Mugabe had stayed whilst a student in Hong Kong. The property had been acquired in June 2008 through a company controlled by Taiwanese-born South African businessman Hsieh Ping-sung for HK$40 million ($5.14 million) and transferred into his own name in 2010.[37] The Mugabes allege that the villa belonged to the Zimbabwean government, while Hsieh, who was once a Mugabe confidant, claims there was no question that the house belonged to him.[38]

Diamond trade allegations and lawsuit

In December 2010 U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks brought up again earlier allegations[39] that high-ranking Zimbabwean government officials and well-connected elites, including Mugabe's wife Grace, are generating millions of dollars in personal income by hiring teams of diggers to hand-extract diamonds from the Chiadzwa mine in eastern Zimbabwe.[40] Grace Mugabe was reported in 2010 to be suing a Zimbabwean newspaper over its reporting of claims released by WikiLeaks that she had made "tremendous profits" from the country's diamond mines. The president's wife is demanding $15m (£9.6m) from the Standard newspaper.[41]

Shopping

Grace Mugabe is known for her lavish lifestyle, and Western media has nicknamed her "Gucci Grace".[42][21] The Daily Telegraph called her "notorious at home for her profligacy" in the coverage of a 2003 trip to Paris,[43] during which she was reported as spending £75,000 (approx US$120,000) in a short shopping spree; and in the years leading up to 2004 withdrew over £5 million from the Central Bank of Zimbabwe.[32] When Grace Mugabe was included in the 2002 sanctions, one EU parliamentarian said that the ban would "stop Grace Mugabe going on her shopping trips in the face of catastrophic poverty blighting the people of Zimbabwe".[44] She faces similar sanctions in the United States.[2]

Education

Controversy ensued when Grace Mugabe was given a doctoral degree in sociology in September 2014 from the University of Zimbabwe two months after entering the programme. She was awarded the degree by her husband and University Chancellor Robert Mugabe. Her doctoral thesis was not published in the university archive along with other graduates and she has faced calls to return her PhD.[45] The awarding of the degree caused a backlash in the Zimbabwean academic community, with some commenting that this could harm the reputation of the university.[46][47][48][49][50][51] On 22 January 2018, the University website published Grace Mugabe's PhD thesis (without a signature page of a doctoral committee).[52] Levi Nyagura, the vice chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe, was arrested in 2018 by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to be charged with abuse of office following an investigation into the PhD.[53]

Various assaults

Mugabe's reputation for violence and hot temper earned her the nickname of "Dis-Grace" at home.[21] There have also been incidents abroad: The Times reported on 18 January 2009 that, while on a shopping trip in Hong Kong where her daughter Bona Mugabe was a university student,[54] Mugabe ordered her bodyguard to assault Sunday Times photographer Richard Jones outside her luxury hotel. She then joined in the attack, punching Jones repeatedly in the face while wearing diamond encrusted rings, causing him cuts and abrasions.[55][56] She was subsequently granted immunity from prosecution 'under Chinese diplomatic rules' because of her status as Mugabe's wife.[57]

In August 2017, while visiting South Africa to treat an ankle injury, Grace is said to have assaulted a 20-year-old model, Gabriella Engels, and two friends, who were in the company of her two younger sons, Robert Jr. and Chatunga, at a hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.[58] It is alleged that Grace hit the women and her sons, with an extension cord, causing various injuries including a deep gash on Engels' forehead.[59] This was after accusing the women of living with her sons. After charges were laid by Engels for "assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm", Grace was due to appear at a Johannesburg court on 15 August 2017, but failed to do so;[60] she was subsequently granted diplomatic immunity.[61] After President Robert Mugabe got deposed by Emmerson Mnangagwa, Gabriella Engels posted a tweet vowing revenge on Grace Mugabe.[62] On 30 July 2018, the South African High Court stripped Grace of her diplomatic immunity and allowed the case involving her assault against Engels to proceed.[63][64]

Ivory smuggling

A police spokeswoman stated on 26 March 2018 that they were investigating a case of alleged ivory smuggling linked to Grace. The spokesman for Zimbabwe's national parks and wildlife agency stated that Mugabe and senior members of her staff had forced parks' officials to sign export permits for ivory pieces during her husband's presidency.[65]

Mazowe Dam

In 2017, Grace's Mazowe Citrus Estate took control of 60 percent of the Mazowe Dam. On 24 August 2018. Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa issued a provision ordering the Mugabe family to vacate the Dam and return their share to the Environment, Water, and Climate Ministry.[66]

References

  1. ↑ "Grace Mugabe: From Chivu to Gracelands". The Zimbabwe Independent. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Executive Order: Blocking Property of Persons Undermining Democratic Processes Or Institutions in Zimbabwe". The White House. 7 March 2003. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  3. ↑ Verkaik, Robert (6 April 2008). "The love that made Robert Mugabe a monster". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  4. ↑ "Zimbabwe's President Mugabe 'resigns'". BBC News. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  5. ↑ "Robert Mugabe says 'disgraceful' Zimbabwe coup must be undone". The Guardian. Agence-France Presse. 15 March 2018. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  6. ↑ Utton, Dominic (16 November 2017) "Grace Mugabe: Typist who became the wicked power behind Mugabe’s throne is gone" Daily Express
  7. ↑ "Grace Mugabe: the rags to riches rise and fall of 'Gucci Grace'". the Guardian. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  8. ↑ newsday (5 December 2014). "Trevor Ncube among most influential persons in Africa". NewsDay Zimbabwe. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  9. ↑ Smith, David (15 July 2015). "Don't mess with Grace Mugabe – she could be the next president of Zimbabwe". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 "A loving mother of the nation". The Herald. 30 August 2017.
  11. ↑ Now Defence Attaché at the Zimbabwean Embassy in China
  12. ↑ Chinamano, Roy. "Mugabe will not accept defeat – Grace". Zimbabwe Metro. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  13. ↑ "Affair with president's wife costs Zim tycoon". ZWNews.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  14. 1 2 3 Meldrum, Andrew (2004). Where We Have Hope: A Memoir of Zimbabwe. Atlantic Monthly Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-871-13896-5.
  15. ↑ Chikaya, Chicko. "A brief history about Grace Mugabe". Harare Tribune. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  16. ↑ "Robert Mugabe's son arrested in Zimbabwe over cars trashed at Harare party". BBC News. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  17. ↑ Winter, Joseph (10 May 2000). "Mugabe: Freedom fighter turned autocrat". BBC News. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  18. ↑ "Grace PhD fraud: Interview sheds light". Zimbabwa Independent. 24 October 2014.
  19. ↑ 津巴布韦总统夫人格蕾丝•穆加贝人民大学毕业 获文学学士学位 Archived 19 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine Renmin University (in Chinese)
  20. ↑ Grace Mugabe’s mom dies
  21. 1 2 3 "Grace Mugabe: the office worker who wanted to rule Zimbabwe". Reuters. 17 November 2017.
  22. ↑ "Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF confirms Mugabe's wife as women's head". Reuters. 6 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "Team Lacoste vs G40: ED 'poisoning' triggers vicious fight". The Standard, 10 September 2017
  24. ↑ "Mnangagwa admits he was poisoned". Bulawayo 24 News, 3 October 2017
  25. ↑ "Zimbabwe politics: Mugabe sacks 'disloyal' Mnangagwa". BBC News. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  26. ↑ "Chaos in Zimbabwe after Mugabe fails to announce expected resignation". The Guardian. 19 November 2017.
  27. ↑ "After Robert Mugabe's death, what next for Grace?". The Daily Telegraph. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  28. ↑ "Mugabe's wife on EU sanctions list". BBC News. 22 July 2002. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  29. ↑ Blocking property of persons undermining democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe
  30. ↑ Chappell, Anne (2 November 2007). "The Palace of President Mugabe of Zimbabwe". Newsvine. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  31. ↑ Thornycroft, Peta (20 August 2002). "Mugabe's wife to move into white couple's farm". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  32. 1 2 Peta, Basildon (7 April 2008). "Mugabe demands vote recount as 'war veterans' arm for battle". The Independent. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  33. ↑ Swain, Jon. "Grasping Grace puts diamond business on her shopping list". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2009.(subscription required)
  34. ↑ Sapa-dpa (15 February 2009). "Mugabe's daughter 'studying in Hong Kong'". IOL News. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  35. 1 2 3 4 Wong, Albert; Li, Raymond; Leung, Ambrose (17 February 2009). "Why can't Mugabe buy a flat in HK, asks Beijing". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  36. ↑ "Miss Mugabe in HK?". iafrica.com. 17 February 2009. Archived from the original on 19 August 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  37. ↑ "Grace Mugabe, the businessman and the Hong Kong villa". The Telegraph. 24 May 2015.
  38. ↑ "Hong Kong legal fight heating up over Mugabe luxury villa in New Territories". South China Morning Post. 26 May 2015.
  39. ↑ Tran, Mark (14 June 2010). "Zimbabwe rulers running diamond trade with 'corruption and violence'". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  40. ↑ Sguazzin, Antony; Latham, Brian (10 December 2010). "Zimbabwe's Political Elite Profited From Gems, WikiLeaks Says". Bloomberg. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
  41. ↑ "Wikileaks: Grace Mugabe sues over diamond claims". BBC News. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  42. ↑ "The Mugabes and their controversial Hong Kong connection". South China Morning Post. 16 November 2017.
  43. ↑ Delves Broughton, Philip (2 February 2003). "Truffle dinners for £190 at the Mugabes' glittering hideaway". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group.
  44. ↑ "Mugabe's wife on EU sanctions list". BBC News. 22 July 2002. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  45. ↑ "Call for Zimbabwe's Grace Mugabe to return PhD". 1 October 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  46. ↑ "Call for Zimbabwe's Grace Mugabe to return PhD". BBC News. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  47. ↑ Mambo, Elias (19 September 2014). "Zimbabwe: Grace Mugabe's PhD Scandal Torches Storm". Zimbabwe Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  48. ↑ Jesaro, May (16 September 2014). "Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe, awarded PhD, two months after enrollment". Standard Digital. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  49. ↑ Iaccino, Ludovica (15 September 2014). "Zimbabwe: Grace Mugabe Awarded PhD in Two Months from University where President Mugabe is Chancellor". International Business Times. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  50. ↑ Nleya, Feluna (13 September 2014). "It's now Dr Grace and Dr Mujuru!". NewsDay. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  51. ↑ Gagare, Owen (24 October 2014). "Grace PhD fraud: Interview sheds light". The Zimbabwe Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
  52. ↑ "The Changing Social Structures and Functions of the Family: The Case of Children's Homes in Zimbabwe" (PDF). www.ir.uz.ac.zw. Department of Sociology - University of Zimbabwe. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  53. ↑ "Arrest made over Grace Mugabe's 'fake' PhD". eNCA.
  54. ↑ Parry, Simon (25 January 2009). "Mugabe's daughter studying at HKU under alias". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 27 January 2009.
  55. ↑ Swain, Jon (18 January 2009). "Mrs Mugabe assaults our photographer outside her luxury Hong Kong hotel". Times Online. Archived from the original on 21 January 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  56. ↑ Brook, Sally (4 March 2004). "Gucci Grace blows £75k". The Sun. Zimbabwe Situation News.
  57. ↑ "No attack charges for Mugabe wife". BBC News. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  58. ↑ "Zimbabwe's Grace Mugabe due in South Africa court over assault". BBC News. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  59. ↑ "Model involved in nightclub 'brawl' before Grace Mugabe alleged assault". News 24. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  60. ↑ "#DisGraceful: Grace Mugabe is a no-show at court". Sandton Chronicle. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  61. ↑ "Grace Mugabe: South Africa grants immunity despite assault claim". BBC News. 20 August 2017.
  62. ↑ "Grace #Mugabe victim threatens revenge - My Harare Times News". 21 November 2017.
  63. ↑ Grobler, Riaan (30 July 2018). "It would be 'unwise' for Grace Mugabe to visit SA again, say legal experts". News24.
  64. ↑ "JUST IN: SA court overturns immunity for Grace Mugabe in assault case". The Herald.
  65. ↑ Mutsaka, Farai (26 March 2018). "Grace Mugabe linked to alleged ivory smuggling in Zimbabwe". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 26 March 2018.
  66. ↑ Charles, Mabhena (25 August 2018). "ED signs statutory provision to kick Mugabe family out of Mazowe Dam". ZIM NEWS | Latest Zim News | Breaking Zimbabwe Update News Today.
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