Grace Mugabe Could Now Face Prosecution For Alleged Crimes Committed

Grace Mugabe could now face prosecution for crimes allegedly committed while her husband Robert was in power following his death today aged 95.

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Grace was Mugabe’s second wife and they married in 1996, having two sons and a daughter. He married his first wife Sally Mugabe in 1961 but she died in 1992.

The 55-year-old former secretary, who is known as ‘Gucci Grace’ for her fondness for luxury shopping, enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in a desperately impoverished country. 

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Grace, who was by her husband’s side when he died in Singapore, had been given immunity along with Mugabe by military authorities in Zimbabwe in November 2017.

But current president Emmerson Mnangagwa then told the BBC in January 2018 how he had not granted either of them immunity, although they would be ‘left in peace’.

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He said they got a ‘lucrative’ retirement package, adding: ‘The new administration will do everything possible to make sure the family lives in peace, undisturbed.’

Among the crimes that Mr Mugabe and his government were accused of – and denied – were human rights abuses such as killing and raping opposition activists.

In March 2018, police began to investigate claims Grace fronted a poaching and smuggling syndicate which illegally exported elephant tusks, gold and diamonds. 

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She has not been charged over the allegations, but Mr Mnangagwa sanctioned the probe after Australian photographer Adrian Steirn uncovered ‘very strong’ evidence. 

Then in December last year, South African prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for her for allegedly assaulting a model in Johannesburg in 2017. 

Before Mr Mnangagwa took over as president, Grace had been calling for his removal as they fought to take over from Mr Mugabe, who had ruled since 1980.

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She used her political platform to take on Mr Mnangagwa and famously said at a rally: ‘They say I want to be president. Why not? Am I not a Zimbabwean?’.

Grace had become deeply unpopular among much of the Zimbabwean public due to her alleged corruption and volatile temper by the time Mugabe was ousted.

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But at first she stayed out of politics and was known for her spending, including buying rare diamond jewellery and Rolls-Royce limousines for her playboy sons.

Grace owns vast tracks of land in Mazowe, some 20 miles north east of Harare, and is also believed to own houses in South Africa, Dubai and Singapore.

But last December, it was claimed Grace – whose property portfolio is worth more than £50million – had not paid her farm workers for three months. 

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This came after about 400 illegal gold miners invaded one of her farms in March 2018, and allegedly uprooted lemon trees, digging shafts and put gold ore on lorries.

The reports of her lavish spending and explosive temper earned her the title ‘Dis-Grace’ – and eyebrows were raised in 2014 when she gained a PhD in three months.

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Her spending was an uncomfortable contrast with an economic crisis which left most of the 16 million population mired in poverty and unemployment.