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Amai Mugabe

Farirai Machivenyika and Felex Share
The First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe yesterday said she turned down a $10 million bribe from white farmers to influence President Mugabe to abandon the land reform programme.
The First Lady said this while addressing thousands of people on the third leg of her Meet The People Tour at the City Sports Centre in Harare yesterday.

She described the President as a principled leader who had also refused gifts from people seeking favours from him.

“Munhu anonzi Baba Mugabe munhu akazvininipisa, anomira pachokwadi, anotaura zvisiri zvekufadza vanhu. Ndakaona maitirio iwayo kuti haanetse ukarara, unorara hope dzakanaka, une peace of mind (President Mugabe is a principled, humble, upright man who does not flatter to deceive. I have realised that such an approach brings peace of mind)

“Nokuti kana uchiziva kuti unofamba gwara rakanaka hautye kumira pane vanhu uchitaura zvese zvakashata. Dai mari yakanga ichitiitira zvinogara zvakadaro dai zvino tichitaura rimwe shoko, zvino ndinoona kuti vanhu pakati pedu hatidzidze kuti mari inouya kubva kumuvengi yakanangana newe handifunge kuti imari yakanaka (If you know you are clean you do not shy away from berating evil deeds. If money could buy everything its intended to buy, our revolution could have gone off kilter yet some of our people never learn that the money that they receive from outsiders is dirty money).

“Mari kana ichiuya ngainangane nesu tese. Nokuti ndizvo zvimwe zvinozoita kuti uruze focus nekushaya wisdom nekuti kana wangopihwa kamari ukaisa muhomwe kasingambokwane kupedza mwedzi wototi ndachengetwa. What about the rest of the people? Think about the people,” she said.

Amai Mugabe then described how various people had tried to bribe the First Family in an attempt to reverse the land reform programme.

“Munoziva zvatiri pano takaenda through zvakawanda zvatakaona. Baba kwaiuya vanhu vachioffer kuti toda kukuvakirai imba,” she said. “Pane vakauya tikati let us look at the plan zvikanzi thank you very much kana une mari endesa kuZanu-PF (We have been through a lot. The President received a lot of offers to betray the revolution. Some said they wanted to build him a house, but he said if you want to donate, donate to the party).

“Handifunge kuti yakaenda kuZanu-PF, vaida kutenga Baba, kutitenga. Vamwe vaona kuti zvaramba kunaBaba and thought kuti mukadzi waBaba zvaari wechidiki anotengeka. I cannot be bought also, handitengwe nemari nekuti zvandinopihwa zvakahwanda imimi mukasazviona mukomana arikudenga anozviona. Pane vakauya kwandiri vakati Amai heyo 10 million varungu zvese zveminda dai zvapera ndikati ‘stupid do not ever come here again, do not ever call my office again!

“Ndikati you are insulting me, what is 10 million kwandiri? Unofunga kuti ndinotadza kushandira 10 million ini? What about Zimbabwe yese? Tanga wapa mumwe nemumwe 10 million, Ndakamutuka, I almost spat on his face. Ndikati handidi kunzwa nezvako, don’t ever come here nekuti iwe unoda ndiudze baba kuti tiite huori, corruption pachirungu,” she said.

Amai Mugabe said she was aware of the bad things that were being said against her, but said she had developed a thick skin and would not be swayed in her stance on empowering Zimbabweans.

She said that even the sanctions imposed on her family would not deter the aspirations of the majority.

The land reform programme has benefited over 300 000 households, while at least one million people have their livelihoods dependant on land as a result of the land reform programme.

British author Ian Scoones of the UK’s Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University recently debunked the western rhetoric that the land reform programme has not been a disaster.

He said he was surprised with the levels of activity at some farms he visited during his study tour of Zimbabwe.