Grace Mugabe addressed her first nationwide rally in Buhera today. The rally was held at St Johns Secondary school and Zanu PF elite such as Mandi Chimene, Edna Madzongwe, Saviour Kasukuwere, Joseph Chinotimba, Samuel and Letina Undenge, Kudzanai Chipanga, Joseph Made and Buhera North MP William Mutomba were in attendance. Here is a summary of 10 key points in her address:
- The first lady still has a score to settle with former Vice President and current Zimbabwe People First leader Joice Mujuru who she referred to as Queen Bee and insinuated that Mujuru sleeps around when she gave a vivid and graphic description of bees’ mating behaviour. However the term Queen Bee refers to a woman who has authority or is in a dominant or favored position over her peers not what Mugabe and Mujuru have taken it to mean.
- She advised Mujuru to go and spend time with her grandchildren. She also sold the idea that the cash crisis was a result of externalisation of foreign currency and said that the bond notes were introduced to counter that. She made a subliminal reference to Jacob Zuma’s inability to read membership numbers during the ANC’s National General Council in 2015.
- The rallies are a preparation for the 2018 election since Mugabe said that they do not want to come to the people when it is election time.
- She said that President Robert Mugabe would have forgiven Mujuru if she had asked for forgiveness giving an analogy of how God forgave those that crucified Jesus Christ.
- Grace Mugabe said that she is Zanu PF’s referee and promised that she will not hesitate to blow the whistle on wrongdoers.
- She admitted that Zanu PF has factions and said that even though the party was a brand like NetOne, they risk losing in the 2018 election if people pursue personal interests. She said that there were politicians who were paying or threatening journalists to write articles denigrating the President.
- Mugabe said that she will not advise her husband to retire because the people voted for him. She also said that one day they will field a corpse of Robert Mugabe and still win an election because people love him. She encouraged people to wait on God to decide the end of Mugabe’s reign and reiterated that the position of President was not vacant.
- She urged Ministers not to embarrass Mugabe by being corrupt and urged them to be content with what they have and not be covetous.
- She blamed the closure of factories on people who import goods outside. Mugabe said that people who are rich never started big and gave an example of a businessperson from Singapore. She urged people to be patient. She said that things were tough for her saying that at times she feels like closing her dairy farm but does not because of the number people she employs.
- Part of the items that she gave people in Buhera was confiscated from crossborder traders at Zimbabwe’s borders by Zimra.