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How this power-mad first lady possibly sparked a military coup
Meet the woman whose insatiable appetite for power set in motion Zimbabwe's ongoing military coup: first lady Grace Mugabe.The 52-year-old shopaholic, who has earned the nickname "Gucci Grace" thanks to her taste for designer clothes, allegedly convinced her hubby ‐ dictator "President" Robert Mugabe ‐ to sack his heir apparent, ushering in a military backlash that left the 93-year-old despot under house arrest while she hightailed it out of the African country to "I say to Mr. Mugabe, you should . . . leave me to take over your post," the silver-tongued Grace said in a church meeting, according to the Globe and Mail. "Have no fear. If you want to give me the job, give it to me freely." Then she gave him the not-so-subtle instruction to ax his vice president and right-hand man of 40 years, Emmerson "Crocodile" Mnangagwa ‐ so named because the beast is his clan's totem and because his erstwhile political resilience has been likened to the leathery reptile's skin. "The snake must be hit on the head," Grace hissed, referring to Mnangagwa. Within a few days, Robert delivered a proverbial crocodile-skin handbag to spendthrift Grace by ousting longtime ally Mnangagwa. The plot cleared the runway for his fashionista wife's ascent to leader ‐ until the military intervened Tuesday. Grace's tale is equal parts Imelda Marcos and Lady MacBeth, a profligate first lady who has incurred a struggling nation's ire while manipulating her powerful husband. The South African native's rise began in the early 1990s, when she was a single mother and secretary in Robert's typing pool. Totes qualified Posted by: Frank G 2017-11-16 |
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