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The First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe attends her maiden Politburo meeting as zanu-pf Secretary for Women’s Affairs while sitting next to President Mugabe with Vice Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko yesterday

Felex Share Senior Reporter
The First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe yesterday attended her inaugural Zanu-PF Politburo meeting since being appointed secretary for Women’s Affairs at the 6th National People’s Congress last December. Amai Mugabe did not attend the two Politburo meetings the party held since the Congress as she was recovering after a minor operation in the Far East.

The First Lady entered the boardroom where the meetings are held in the afternoon together with President Mugabe and secretary for Administration Cde Ignatius Chombo, before going around greeting all members of the Politburo.

She then proceeded to take her seat at the top table besides the President.

Zanu-PF secretary for Information Cde Simon Khaya Moyo, said President Mugabe had welcomed Amai Mugabe into the Politburo.

“In the beginning the President welcomed the First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe to the Politburo meeting in her capacity as secretary for Women Affairs. Of course, the same welcome was extended to us.”

Amai Mugabe made the grand entrance into mainstream politics in July last year when the Zanu-PF Women’s League recommended to the President her appointment as secretary for Women Affairs.

Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, who is now secretary for Transport, relinquished her post to the First Lady. The resolution received unanimous endorsement from youths, traditional leaders, war veterans, churches and students.

It is the First Lady’s entrance into politics that killed factionalism, which had been created by former Vice President Dr Joice Mujuru and her cabal.

During her “Meet the People Tours” she destroyed the multiple centres of power Dr Mujuru had created, exposing the former VP’s shenanigans in the process, which included attempts to unconstitutionally remove President Mugabe from power.

Some of the illicit deals done by Dr Mujuru, exposed by the First Lady, included extorting shareholding in firms, demanding 10 percent bribes, illegal dealings in diamonds and gold, attempting to defeat the course of justice and extorting investors. In 2011, Dr Mujuru reportedly directed permanent secretary for Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Mr Ringson Chitsiko, to issue her family business with a permit to import chickens from Brazil against a Government ban. This was after she had allegedly struck a deal to import chickens from Brazil when she had travelled on Government business.

The permit was issued despite a legal instrument banning the importation of chickens as a way of protecting local farmers.

Dr Mujuru allegedly received cash payments from Kenyan and Indian financiers who had invested in the Mujuru family-owned duty-free shops at Harare International Airport before elbowing them out in a manner that bordered on extortion.

As a result, Dr Mujuru received condemnation from all sectors of the society and lost her Central Committee seat in Mt Darwin, automatically making her ineligible for election into the Politburo.