With Mugabe Fading, His Wife Emerges
MASVINGO, Zimbabwe — The first lady of Zimbabwe’s display of power was clear during the governing party’s annual congress, as she focused her speech on new party regalia featuring a teacup-shaped image of her country. “We all drink from the teacup,” Grace Mugabe, the first lady, said, explaining that she had designed the regalia herself.
The next morning in Masvingo, the small town in southern Zimbabwe where the congress of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, President Robert Mugabe’s party, was held recently, nearly all officials wore clothes adorned with Ms. Mugabe’s teacup design.
Ms. Mugabe — known mostly for her lavish overseas shopping trips until she entered politics just two years ago — has emerged as one of the main actors in the fierce maneuvering to succeed Mr. Mugabe that has engulfed Zimbabwe in the last year.
She is, to many people, the real power behind the throne, vowing to keep her husband in office until his death while she consolidates her support. She told supporters recently that she was “already the president,” planning everything with her husband.
On stage at the party congress, Ms. Mugabe sat closest to her husband, who, a couple of months shy of 93 years old, dozed through most speeches. Mr. Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state and the only leader Zimbabwe has known since its independence in 1980, was selected as his party’s candidate in the 2018 presidential election. He would be 94 by then and, should he win, 99 by the end of his term.
Mr. Mugabe has appeared increasingly dependent on his wife, who is 51. At a tree-planting ceremony, the president kept tapping at dirt with his shovel until the first lady intervened by grabbing the shovel herself.
Whether the first lady’s power continues beyond her husband’s death is unclear. Ms. Mugabe is reported to head one of the two competing factions inside ZANU-PF, but is she its leader, or just a pup- pet for survivors of Zimbabwean politics? After her husband dies, will she hop on a plane for Dubai or elsewhere in Asia, where she and her children have established homes? The Mugabes are thought to have more than $1 billion invested outside Zimbabwe, according to a cable released by WikiLeaks.
If she does grab power, she would likely continue her husband’s policies. Changes critical to reviving Zimbabwe’s crumpled economy, including land reform, would probably remain the same under Ms. Mugabe. Her elevation could also intensify tensions in Zimbabwe’s small political class by upsetting Mr. Mugabe’s lieutenants, many of whom have been waiting decades to take over.
The president and Ms. Mugabe became involved when she worked in the president’s secretarial pool. The president’s first wife was terminally ill at the time.
Ms. Mugabe formally entered politics in 2014, becoming the leader of ZANU-PF’s women’s league.
She has treated potential rivals without mercy. She expelled from ZANU-PF a vice president and war hero, Joice Mujuru, by accusing her of engaging in treason, practicing witchcraft and wearing short skirts.
On his 92nd birthday, Mr. Mugabe said he had given his wife his approval to enter politics. “It has proved to be rough waters,” he said, “but she can cope with it. She is a rough swimmer.”