'I saw a vision of me ruling the heavenly kingdom' says Grace Mugabe

Zimbabwe could be headed towards a Mugabe dynasty following Grace Mugabe's explosive entry into the political arena.

Dewa Mavhinga, from Human Rights Watch, believes the president has made a serious mistake by bringing in someone with no political pedigree whatsoever.

"It shows that President Mugabe doesn't trust anyone around him. I think he was under pressure to control the factions and extend his own stay in office, but it was a major miscalculation and exposed him for the first time if you see how the factions are now fighting openly in the media," said Mr Mavhinga.

However, Simba Makoni, a former Zanu-PF minister who ran for the presidency as an independent against Mr Mugabe in 2008, believes people are too quick to reject the possibility of a dynasty.

"Grace is poised to lead the Women's League... in December. That is a given. And my hunch is she is not going to end there, realising how easy it has been for her to get to there in such a short time," said Mr Makoni.

"So I would say watch this space - there will be more happening."

Grace has been accused of believing that everyone in Zanu PF and, by extension, in Zimbabwe, is beholden to her husband, Mugabe.

In all her speeches, criticism of other people is based upon their alleged disloyalty towards her husband, to whom in her mind, they ought to be grateful.

In her view, everyone who holds a position in the State, elected or otherwise, does so because of Mugabe's good heart. For this benevolence, every person owes Mugabe.

This is why, when she alleges that Mujuru is corrupt, she does not talk about the law taking its course, but suggests that if she wants to be forgiven, then she must apologise to her husband.

Observers say that in her mind, Mugabe is almost like an absolute monarch of medieval times — with power to make laws, to interpret and enforce them according to his wishes.

At her rally in Bulawayo, some women began to leave their seats while she was still speaking. Grace thought they were rising in protest and she took great exception to this "act of disobedience".

She admonished the women and ordered that those who had left their seats would not be given the packets of seed maize that she had brought with her.

So for her, the women who were showing disloyalty had to be punished. Apparently for Grace, aid is simply a political tool to reward loyal supporters and to entice political support.

At another rally in Chinhoyi, she had made the politically correct statement that aid would be available to everyone, whether they were ruling party or opposition supporters. Her handlers had taught her good political public relations.

But when she was faced with apparent opposition, she reportedly acted true to character and demonstrated that like her party Zanu PF, which has always politicised aid, she was no different.