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Mugabe daughter flees to Malaysia, Mugabe family members cut ties with Grace, and Mugabe allies leave for Kenya. These are the latest news reports coming out of Zimbabwe.
The fall of the Mugabe regime has seen an exodus of family members and allies vacate the country, starting almost immediately after the resignation of former president Robert Mugabe
On Friday, the Zimbabwe Independent provided an in-depth analysis of just where exactly Mugabe and his wife, Grace, stand in the current realm of Zimbabwean politics.
One of the damning revelations to come out of the publication was that the former first lady had managed to, over the years, exert her power of everything from the looting of public funds in order to fund the purchasing of private assets and lavish oversees holidays.
“On one occasion this year, for instance, his wife took about $3.5 million [about R48 million] during a foreign trip,” a senior treasury official said this week.
“There is also another example; the money used to buy their mansion in Sandhurst, Sandton, Johannesburg in South Africa came from public funds through local banks.”
At one point Grace also demanded that Patrick Chinamasa [who was finance minister and still is] buys cars for her and he had to find the money, the publication reported.
The Sandton mansion, which is estimated to have cost R45 million, includes a koi pond and six reception rooms.
According to local sources, Mugabe and his wife are still in Zimbabwe at their “Blue Mansion”, but their children have either vacated the country or have not returned home.
“The sources said Mugabe’s stepson, Russell Goreraza, who is Grace’s first child with her former husband, is the only one who is still in Harare,” said the Zimbabwe Independent report.
Bona, their daughter, has reportedly fled to Malaysia with her husband, Simba Chikore, and their son. Bona is rumoured to be pregnant with their second child.
There was a public outcry when she gave birth to their first child in Singapore last year, reflecting the family’s lack of faith in the medical care that Zimbabwe provides.
Grace previously had an appendix removed at a hospital in Singapore, and Robert Mugabe had been known to have his medical treatment in Singapore as well.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa officially swore in his new cabinet officials on Monday, including Sports and Recreation Minister Kezembe Kezembe and ICT and Cyber Security Minister Supa Mandiwazira.
The cyber security ministry was created during the Mugabe regime, when political uprisings took to social media.
One of the biggest critics and opposition activists against Mugabe was Pastor Evan Mawarire, who was led the mass uprising against Mugabe.
Mawarire organised the #ThisFlag movement, in which he called on the people of Zimbabwe to rally against corruption and the mistreatment of its citizens.
On November 27, Mawarire was acquitted of all charges which were brought against him by the former government, when a Harare high court judge ruled that there was no evidence linking him to the supposed “removal of government”.
