Who can stop Grace?

At the beginning, she publicly accused a deputy minister, Fortune Chasi, of resisting her moves to acquire vast tracts of land in Mazowe, Mashonaland Central province. This was based solely on hearsay that could easily have come from Chasi’s internal political enemies. She then accused unnamed people of trying to “haul her over the tarmac” – interpreted to mean that there were people bent on persecuting her.

She has repeated this conspiracy theory at almost all her rallies. Invariably, the theory has extended to her husband, with her public pronouncements showing that she is bitter that there are people inside Zanu (PF) who are out to “sabotage” Mugabe. In direct contradiction to these messages, she claims that she is a unifier.

At one time, she threatened to spill the blood of those opposed to her plans to extend her property empire. It would be naïve to limit her remarkable utterances to the power struggles in Zanu (PF). They certainly have a national implication, considering her position as the wife of the president.

We are afraid that by spewing hate speech at every corner as she is doing, Grace is sending the wrong signal to us and our children. If she is not reined in, her utterances could easily upset the general peace we are enjoying in our communities at the national level.

Furthermore, what Grace is doing and saying, especially after the controversy around her doctorate, has the potential to further dent our image in the eyes of the international community – driving away much-needed investment.

The big question is: Who must rein her in? Her husband is the obvious one. If he lets her carry on like this, he is as guilty as she is. The problem is, we cannot expect much from him, considering his advanced age.

Neither should we expect much from the ruling party. Zimbabweans may wring their hands in despair and watch as the Zanu circus rumbles on – but nobody can stop her. Until of course Mugabe goes. And then the night of the long knives will start. She is walking a dangerous path.