Mugabe to step down for Grace

President Robert Mugabe is all but plotting to hand over power to his truculent wife, Grace, should he contest and win the 2018 watershed elections, Spotlight Zimbabwe reported.

According to a senior Zanu PF Politburo member, who is also a cabinet minister, the latest swath of forced resignations and calls for the expulsion of the ruling party's national commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere, are a "grand scheme" by the Mugabes to clear the First Lady's path to State House.

Grace's former political allies Eunice Sandi Moyo, her dethroned deputy in the women's league and Sarah Mahoka, who was responsible for finances in the league, this week resigned from their party positions, following pressure exerted by what many see as stage managed demonstrations by irate allies of the first lady, to force them out, as they were becoming a stumbling block, amid suspicion that the duos push for debate around the need for Zanu PF to re-appoint a female, as one of the vice presidents in the presidium, could be a conspiracy to set up Sandi Moyo for the position based on her seniority.

Kasukuwere on the other hand is having his career hanging by a thread, after being accused of covertly wanting to topple Mugabe through capture of party structures. The local government minister is said to have met Mugabe over the issue, and literally shed tears to avoid being ousted from Zanu PF, as he gibbered for mercy and pled for sanctuary.

The senior party member said, there was allegedly a plan in place for Mugabe to remain in office for only six months if he won the poll, before stepping down for Grace by February 2019. The minister also said central to the whole secretive strategy, was the involvement of the party's youth and women's league, who would roll-out countrywide marches calling for Grace to succeed her husband, in perfect choreography.

"The media is not looking deeper into current developments. Everything is pointing to our first lady becoming president," he said. "If there was anyone other than Amai Mugabe to succeed the president, that person could have been in office by now, but the reality of the matter is that there is nobody. There is consensus between the women's and youth leagues that the time has come for the first lady to assume the highest office."

In February, the ruling party's youth secretary, Kudzanai Chipanga, made stunning disclosures to the media that the youths want a Grace presidency, to preserve the Mugabe political brand. "It is not secret that the youth league and the women's league work closely together hence we will have no problem with supporting a woman to any position of the party including presidency as long as it is done according to the dictates of the Zanu PF constitution and like I have said, that person must carry the name Mugabe," Chipanga said.

"By the way it (Zanu PF constitution) does not bar women from contesting. Our point is that we prefer to go into an election riding on the back of the Mugabe brand. It does us good to have the name Mugabe on the ballot paper than someone with a name say like Chipanga."

Grace has pretended not to show interest in being president, saying as first lady she was already ruling.

Mugabe himself recently spoke glowingly of his wife during a televised national interview to mark his 93rd birthday, describing her as "fireworks" because of her feisty remarks in his defense

"Fireworks, isn't it?" Mugabe said, laughing. The Zanu PF leader also said Grace is "very much accepted by the people" and that she was "well-seasoned" and has "a very strong character."

Intelligence sources last week said the master plan of Mugabe stepping down for Grace, was in line with his family's broader goal of eventually making former reserve bank governor, Gideon Gono, the ultimate Zimbabwe president. Under a Grace presidency, as opposed to a looming vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa one, it will be easy to fast-track Gono into the top echelons of Zanu PF and government our sources said.

"The First Lady could for instance rule for one five year term, and not seek re-election by paving way for Gono as the presidential candidate. There is surety that Gono is likely to be in power for two terms, which is a 10 year reign,"

As first revealed by Spotlight Zimbabwe on 4 July 2016 Gono, is also allegedly being prepared by the national security apparatus, to revive Zanu PF and topple Mujuru and Tsvangirai from power, should the duo win the 2018 elections instead of Zanu PF, as is now widely expected.

However a Grace presidency is highly unlikely, as this publication has it on good account that VP Mnangagwa is now ahead in the race to replace Mugabe, and that he is going to be the party's presidential candidate in that poll, after tasting power briefly as the country's second republic president, by finishing off Mugabe's term as growing health woes and age complication, will see Mugabe out of office soon.