Sabah Mannan
Robert Mugabe’s reign of presidency from 1987 took only a matter to 10 days to crumble. In what appears to be a coup to end his long rule, Zimbabwe’s military has put the 93-year-old veteran leader under house arrest and taken control of the capital and its key sites. The operation was launched to target “criminals” close to the President who were causing “social and economic suffering.” Just ahead of next year’s presidential vote, Mugabe fired the powerful Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa,who was widely tipped to become the country’s next leader.The dismissal of Mnangagwa gave rise to speculation that Mugabe was seeking a pathway for his second wife, Grace Mugabe to take over after his retirement or death. The decision also set off a chain of events within Mugabe’s own party as the Zimbabwean media reported an increase in open animosity betweenMnangagwa and Grace. Grace Mugabe was accused of many things. She was implicated in several incidents. In 2012, a British photographer alleged that Grace punched him as he took a photo of her which she did not like. Another incident includes Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model, who charged Ms Mugabe of whipping her with an electric extension cable as she waited with two friends in a luxury Johannesburg hotel suite to meet one of Mugabe’s adult sons. Mrs Mugabe was also popularly talked about for extravagance and she earned the name “Gucci Grace”.
Source: CNN, ABC and The Guardian