Mugabe showers praise on 'explosive' Grace

As the Zanu-PF apparatchiks fell over each other in a President Robert Mugabe bootlicking contest at the ongoing party congress, the man himself was showering praises on his wife Grace whom he excitedly described as explosive.

The damb squib congress has been dubbed the "Mugabe praise and worship" show after the Zanu-PF strongman banned elections preferring to appointing the party's presidium.

Addressing his party's central committee on Wednesday, the 90-year-old set the bootlicking tone when he told all who cared to listen that Grace was as explosive as dynamite.

This followed, sensational claims by the First Lady in recent months to the effect that Vice President Joice Mujuru was corrupt and inept and deserved to be booted out.

Mugabe said while he wanted to keep the allegations against his number two under wraps, his wife was adamant that the information be made public.

"You must understand that VaMugabe wedded dynamite so we could not keep it secret as she (Grace) insisted that we cannot sweep corruption under the carpet," said Mugabe adding that what incensed his wife was the fact that she discovered that Mujuru's allies wanted to block her ascendancy to become the women's league boss.

Not to be outdone, Jacob Mudenda, the Speaker of Parliament took bootlicking to another level describing the First Lady as the "mother of revelations" when he reported to congress on the state of the party.

Mudenda, thanked Grace for unearthing "the rot" in the party while attacking Mujuru and party secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa.

Usually reserved and sober looking, Mudenda threw diplomacy out of the window as he went a gear up, pummelling Mujuru and Mutasa left right and centre.

Occupying the chairs that are normally reserved for Mujuru and Mutasa, Mudenda and Senate president Edna Madzongwe blamed the duo for causing discord in the party.

"Congress delegates, this is the state of the party leading to this congress and we know this thanks to the revelations by the mother of revelations the First Lady, Amai Dr Grace Mugabe  who was unleashed to sweep away the conspirators…," Mudenda said to thunderous applause from the thousands who seemed to love every bit of his praise singing.

While Grace's "praise and worship team" led by her husband could easily have won gold in the bootlicking contest, one could not have missed the drama that the congress was reduced to with supporters competing to please Mugabe as they took turns to denounce those accused of planning to topple him.