The rise and fall of Gucci Grace: Unpopular, vindictive and polarising

While Zimbabwe remains on edge and uncertain about its future, the world media is trying to make sense of it all. At the centre of the storm is Grace Mugabe, the wife of the country’s 93-year old president, Robert Mugabe.

Grace has been a staunch supporter of her husband for decades. They first met when she found a job as a typist in his office and married a few years after his first wife, Sally, lost her battle to cancer.

Since marrying Robert in 1996, Mrs Mugabe has always been a staunch supporter of her husband – earlier this year she memorably said that he could even win votes as a corpse.

But Grace has not had a good year.

From needing diplomatic immunity to avoid a court case after allegedly assaulting a young model in Johannesburg to feuding with now fired Emmerson Mnangagwa and her nickname “First Shopper”. Grace – and her faction – are believed to be at the centre of the coup-that-is-not-a-coup.

An editorial in The Guardian, published on Wednesday, described her as such:

“Gucci Grace” and her G40 faction are extraordinarily unpopular, for good reason: her unpredictability, vindictiveness and very visible extravagance. The prospect of her ascension was frightening; the sympathetic view is that the power grab was needed to protect the country from spinning into outright chaos, violence and despair.

She has a long list of misdemeanours that belies her name. There is little graceful about Mrs. Mugabe.

In 2014, she controversially earned a PhD in sociology from the University of Zimbabwe in just two months. Her thesis, unlike those of other students, was never filed and has never been made available. But she used the doctorate title as part of her campaign to rise to the leadership of the Zanu-PF women’s wing.

The nickname “First Shopper” stems from her penchant for lavish shopping trips. On one spree in Paris she is widely reported to have racked up a £75,000 bill.

Then there is the reported incident from 2009 when British photographer, Richard Jones, apparently tried to take her picture outside of Hong Kong. The photographer alleged that her bodyguards chased him down the street and was held back while Grace assaulted him.

She enjoyed some support, though. Most notably from f Zanu-PF’s Youth League, and some politicians coalesced around her to form a faction called Generation 40 (G40).

Despite this, Mnangagwa always seemed to be the favoured successor to the presidential throne. Until last week when he was fired by Robert Mugabe.

The response has been swift, although there have been reports that this has been a long time coming. What is clear is that Gucci Grace is in a lot of trouble.