Grace Mugabe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Grace Mugabe
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Mugabe in 2013
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| First Lady of Zimbabwe | |
| In role 17 August 1996 – 21 November 2017 |
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| President | Robert Mugabe |
| Preceded by | Sally Mugabe |
| Succeeded by | Auxillia Mnangagwa |
| 6th Secretary of the ZANU–PF Women's League | |
| In office 6 December 2014 – December 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Oppah Muchinguri |
| Succeeded by | Mabel Chinomona |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Grace Ntombizodwa Marufu
23 July 1965 Benoni, South Africa |
| Political party | ZANU-PF (2014–2017, expelled) |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 4, including Bona and Robert Mugabe Jr |
| Residence | Harare, Zimbabwe |
| Education | Renmin University of China University of Zimbabwe (disputed) |
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| Nickname | Gucci Grace |
Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe (born Grace Ntombizodwa Marufu on 23 July 1965) is a businesswoman and politician from Zimbabwe. She is the widow of the former President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe. Grace Mugabe served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until her husband left his role in November 2017.
She started as a secretary to Robert Mugabe. Over time, she became a powerful figure in the ruling ZANU–PF political party. She led its ZANU–PF Women's League. During a time when Zimbabwe faced economic problems, she became known for her expensive lifestyle. This led to her nickname, "Gucci Grace." She was removed from the ZANU-PF party in 2017 during a change in government. In 2014, New African magazine named her one of the Top 100 most influential Africans.
Grace Mugabe's Early Life
Grace Ntombizodwa Marufu was born in Benoni, South Africa. Her parents had moved there for work. She was the fourth of five children. In 1970, she moved to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to live with her mother, Idah Marufu, in Chivhu. Her father stayed in South Africa to support the family. She went to primary school in Chivhu and then Kriste Mambo secondary school in Manicaland.
She first married an air force pilot named Stanley Goreraza. They had a son, Russell Goreraza, in 1984.
While working as a secretary for President Robert Mugabe, she began a relationship with him. At this time, she was still married to Stanley Goreraza. She and Robert Mugabe had two children: Bona, born in 1988, and Robert Peter Jr.
After Robert Mugabe's first wife, Sally Hayfron, passed away, Grace and Robert Mugabe got married. Their wedding was a large Catholic ceremony that the Zimbabwean press called the "Wedding of the Century." Grace Marufu was 31 years old, and Robert Mugabe was 72 years old when they married.
Their third child together, Chatunga Berlamine Mugabe, was born in 1997.
Grace Mugabe also went to college. In 2007, she started studying the Chinese language at Renmin University in China. She finished her degree in 2011. However, she later said she was not very good at speaking Chinese after finishing her studies. Her mother, Idah Marufu, passed away on 31 August 2018.
Grace Mugabe's Political Role
In late 2014, Grace Mugabe openly criticized Vice-President Joice Mujuru. She claimed that Mujuru was planning against her husband, President Mugabe. These accusations led to Mujuru being removed as a possible future leader and becoming less important in the ZANU-PF party.
At the same time, Grace Mugabe's own political power grew. She was chosen to lead the ZANU–PF Women's League. On 6 December 2014, members at the party meeting approved her for this role. By becoming the head of the women's league, she also became a member of the ZANU-PF Politburo, which is a very important group in the party.
Since 2016, Grace Mugabe became very involved in the ZANU-PF party's internal politics. There were rumors that she was leading a secret group within the party called G40 (Generation 40). Another group, called Lacoste, was thought to be led by Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa. These groups were mainly fighting over who would become president after Robert Mugabe.
The disagreement between Grace Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa became very strong in late September 2017. Both sides publicly blamed each other. Mnangagwa even said he was poisoned at a ZANU-PF rally. Soon after, President Robert Mugabe changed his cabinet, which many believed was a way to shift power. Mnangagwa lost his role as justice minister. October 2017 was when Grace Mugabe had the most political influence in ZANU-PF.
In November 2017, Grace Mugabe played a big part in the removal of Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa. She criticized him for causing problems within the ZANU-PF party. Shortly after, Grace said she wanted to become the Vice-President herself. This caused a lot of tension in the country. Soon after, while Emmerson Mnangagwa had left Zimbabwe for safety, the military took control in a peaceful change of power led by General Constantino Chiwenga. Grace Mugabe was not seen publicly during this time. On 19 November, Grace Mugabe and 20 of her supporters were removed from the ZANU-PF party. When Robert Mugabe passed away on 6 September 2019, both he and Grace were in Singapore.
Travel Restrictions
In 2002, the European Union (EU) was not allowed to observe Zimbabwe's elections. Because of this, the EU placed travel restrictions on 20 leaders from Zimbabwe. In July, they added Grace Mugabe and 51 other people to this list. This meant they could not travel to EU countries, and any money they had there was frozen. In 2003, the United States put similar restrictions on them.
See also
In Spanish: Grace Mugabe para niños
