Grace Mugabe rises again

ZANU-PF's Harare province yesterday moved in to nominate First Lady Grace Mugabe to the central committee, in an apparent bid to silence her backers who had begun to wage a war against those suspected to be unhappy with her elevation.

Grace's political fortunes took a dramatic twist early this month when Zanu-PF women's league endorsed her to succeed Oppah Muchinguri as the boss of the wing.

She was subsequently endorsed by the women and youth league conferences held a fortnight ago.

The endorsements meant her husband President Robert Mugabe would hold the keys to her elevation as he appoints politburo members.

However, the move by Harare province means she would be a member of the Zanu-PF top decision-making body outside congress.

The hasty announcement made yesterday could be an attempt to silence Grace's loyalists who were already baying for Amos Midzi's executive's blood accusing it of trying to torpedo her elevation. Midzi, who has insisted that his executive formally endorsed Grace's elevation early this month announced they had gone a step further by sending her to the central committee.

"We are pleased to also announce that as a province, in addition to supporting Amai Grace Mugabe for the position of national secretary for women's affairs, we have decided to reserve a central committee position for her," he told party officials after a provincial meeting.

Midzi's announcement was greeted by loud cheers, song and dance from the party officials.

"This afternoon, we have set as the provincial elections directorate and have overwhelmingly reaffirmed the position as contained in the letter that we wrote on August 13 2014, as a province to the national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo, who is also chairman of the national elections directorate," Midzi said.

Meanwhile, Moyo would today chair a crisis meeting of provincial chairpersons in Harare to quell factionalism threatening to tear the ruling party apart.