Harare — Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s wife was once dismissed as a lightweight shopping addict with no political interests, but Grace Mugabe has recently emerged as a potential challenger for power. At 52, the first lady has become increasingly active in public life and in 2014 became the head the Zanu (PF) party’s women’s wing. Court politics are complex in Zimbabwe, but she is thought to be backed by "G-40", a group of young activists of the under-40 generation that has earned a reputation for aggression. She regularly attends rallies across the country, railing against anyone alleged to be disloyal to the president, and handing out clothes and domestic goods. She told crowds in 2015 that she would put her husband in a wheelchair if necessary so he could run for re-election. Grace Mugabe was one of her husband’s secretaries when their affair began in 1987, and they had two children in secret before the president’s wife died in 1992. The couple then married at a lavish cere...
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