Grace Mugabe hammers Mahofa

First Lady Grace Mugabe sledged Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister Shuvai Mahofa for failing to acknowledge her while chanting the Zanu-PF slogan and failing to display party regalia during a women's league national assembly meeting last Thursday.

The party's new regalia, unveiled at the Masvingo annual conference in December, was designed by Grace and includes the president's face and also captures Zanu-PF's much-hyped economic blueprint Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset)'s clusters, among them, infrastructure development.

Mahofa, a ruling party politburo member, was covering the party regalia in a black jacket, did not mention the name of Mugabe's wife as she was sloganeering, and did not use the honorific plural Va as a prefix when he referred to President Robert Mugabe.

Mahofa said: "Pamberi naMugabe! Pamberi neZanu-PF! Pasi neMDC."

All women who chanted the slogan before Mahofa said: Pamberi naVaMugabe, Pamberi naDr Grace Mugabe . . ."

This did not go down well with Grace, who went for Mahofa hammer and tongs, claiming there were women who were working with rival party bigwigs to stampede Mugabe out of power.

She cited an unnamed South Africa-based woman she claimed was splashing money among women's league members, urging them to dump Mugabe.

"But it doesn't make sense at all. That is stupidity," fumed Grace.

"That is ignorance because the first lady is here. Let me tell you, even if you make a slogan and . . . if you do a slogan omitting me, it's useless because I am still your president's wife.

"I am not worried if you make slogans. It doesn't bother me. I am still the first lady. It will never change the status quo. Don't worry yourself ladies. I am here as . . . Mugabe's wife, period!

That is the reality. I have been watching people making slogans, leaving me.

Oh, my God, sorry. I feel sorry for you. Women make slogans leaving me out yet I am the one who put you in that position.

"It's not right to do that. If you are not wearing the party uniform, I will ask you why you are not wearing one and I will tell you there and then. If you hate me because I have told you the truth, don't come to me when things go wrong. Don't pretend to support me thinking that you now have a position, you don't need me anymore."

Contacted for comment on Grace's allegations, Mahofa declined to entertain discussions around the issue, saying: "Ah! ah! ah! I don't want to talk about that."

Mahofa is a key ally of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa while Grace is believed to be backing the G40 faction that is rabidly to the Midlands godfather's mooted presidential ambitions.