It came as a surprise on Saturday 26th July in Mazowe, Harare, when during her 49th birthday celebrations Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe accepted a vote from the ruling party Zanu PF to be secretary of the women’s league.
Grace who has been in the media for all the wrong reasons including hitting Richard Jones, a British photographer in 2009, has the support of the ruling party for the position. Oppah Muchinguri, the leader of the Zanu PF league said, “You (Grace) have fought for us and the country. The only way we can repay you is to ask you to lead us,” during the celebrations attended by thousands.
Grace has been married to Robert Mugabe for 18 years. She is the second first lady in history to pursue politics, emulating the footsteps of former US first lady Hilary Clinton who also got into politics soon after her husband Bill Clinton’s tenure in office finished in 2001.
With her 90 year old husband expected to resign soon, we can only wait to see how far in the political ranks Grace will rise. Will she follow in Hilary’s footsteps and maybe run for Zimbabwe’s first female president?
Only time will tell.
Extra information: Independent Foreign Service
Pictures: huffingtonpost.com, newsdzezimbabwe.co.uk
