OUTGOING Zanu PF Women’s League boss Oppah Muchinguri yesterday blew the lid off Grace Mugabe’s closely-guarded secret regarding her controversial doctorate when she revealed that President Robert Mugabe marked the First Lady’s PhD papers.
STAFF REPORTER
Muchinguri made the remarks while addressing hundreds of vendors and cross-border traders gathered at Grace’s Mazowe Children’s Home to endorse her candidature for Women’s League boss ahead of next month’s elective congress.
Muchinguri said Mugabe had assisted in marking Grace’s chapter thesis at their home before she was conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) for a dissertation titled The Changing Social Structure, the Functions of the Family: The Case of Children’s Homes in Zimbabwe.
Said Muchinguri: “Amai Mugabe spent sleepless nights studying for her PhD while President Mugabe marked for her.”
The revelation is further evidence to claims that Mugabe played a role to have his wife controversially conferred with a PhD by the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in September this year. Mugabe is Chancellor of all State universities.
The UZ is to date still to reveal Grace’s supervisor, the local examiners and the external examiner who validated her thesis. It also still remains a mystery if ever she publicly defended the thesis as is the norm as the matter has remained a closely-guarded secret.
To further complicate issues, Grace’s thesis is not available in the UZ library or online.
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Grace is a holder of a Chinese degree which she acquired years after dismally failing her English degree studies with the University of London as an external student.
Meanwhile, the personal attacks on besieged Vice-President Joice Mujuru continued unabated with Hurungwe East MP Sarah Mahoka saying Mujuru must leave office before the end of next week.
“The Women’s League national executive must remove VP Mujuru from office next week without fail,” Mahoka said.
Mujuru has been under fire from some sections of the party over allegations of corruption and plotting to topple Mugabe, charges she has denied.
Grace opened a Pandora’s box last month when she publicly made the allegations during her “Meet the People Tour” rallies around the country.
Mahoka yesterday claimed that Mujuru was the “real weevil” plotting to destroy the ruling party from within.
“The real weevil is VP Mujuru, not the interpretation that it was Jonathan Moyo (Information minister),” Mahoka added.
The fight to remove Mujuru from her position both in government and Zanu PF has claimed scalps of several party officials and eight provincial chairpersons linked to her camp.
The anti-Mujuru campaign has also been extended to Cabinet ministers and politburo members believed to be sympathetic to her.
In a related development, the Zanu PF Harare province Women’s League executive yesterday passed a vote of no confidence in its acting chairperson Miriam Chikukwa over allegations of fanning factionalism.
Chikukwa had assumed the post last Friday following the ouster of Angeline Matambanadzo.
Meanwhile, a group of Zanu PF youths believed to be aligned to Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday stormed Harare International Airport in a bid to demonstrate against Mujuru, who was reportedly set to travel to Dubai.
Sources said the youths were at the airport by midday with placards denouncing Mujuru. The rowdy youths only dispersed at around 4pm after being addressed by an unidentified man who told them Mujuru had cancelled the trip.
