Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe listens to the address by President Robert Mugabe during the official opening of the last session of Zimbabwe’s parliament on October 30, 2012 in Harare. The session was the last before next year’s elections which are expected to end an uneasy coalition government Mugabe formed in 2009 with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. AFP PHOTO / Jekesai Njikizana (Photo credit should read JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Part of the beef between Grace Mugabe and Emmerson Mnangagwa was apparently over honouring Bob

Emmerson Mnangagwa – and ZanuPF – were a bit irked that honouring Robert Mugabe became a family affair rather than a party initiative.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe listens to the address by President Robert Mugabe during the official opening of the last session of Zimbabwe’s parliament on October 30, 2012 in Harare. The session was the last before next year’s elections which are expected to end an uneasy coalition government Mugabe formed in 2009 with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. AFP PHOTO / Jekesai Njikizana (Photo credit should read JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Part of the fall-out that saw a military takeover in Zimbabwe that resulted in Robert Mugabe resigning was apparently over how best to honour him. Or rather, who would be in charge of seeing through the plans to honour him.

Robert Mugabe’s former spokesperson, George Charamba, told the Daily News that plans were afoot to build a billion-dollar university in Mazowe district north of Harare. The institution was to be named the Robert Gabriel Mugabe University.

The idea was apparently Mnangagwa’s, but reports claim that the project was later given to education minister, Jonathan Moyo, an ally of Grace and the so-called G40 faction.

Charamba told the paper:

“I got to know about this strange outcome through Cabinet minutes when I read that Jonathan Moyo had made the presentation making the then vice president a guest in a project he had started.”

Moyo has not been seen publicly since Mugabe was ousted, but he has been Tweeting. He formed part of the “G40” – the Zanu-PF faction that supported Grace and opposed Mnangagwa’s long-held plans to succeed Mugabe.

Charamba also told the Daily News that a project to finish the writing of Mugabe’s biography, started by the late nationalist Nathan Shamuyarira, was also suddenly given to Moyo. This despite the fact that a respected historian was already working on the project.

“I got a distinct impression that the then president’s legacy had ceased to be a matter for his party, Zanu-PF but for preferred members working with the first family – it was a family affair,” Charamba said.

That – and the firing of Mnangagwa, which was largely seen as a move to further the Mugabe dynasty by positioning Grace to eventually take over from her husband – led to a massive fallout and the eventual resignation of Robert Mugabe.