FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe has taken to politics like a storm, claiming to be fighting factionalism within Zanu PF and defending her husband President Robert Mugabe from a perceived palace coup.
BATANAI MUTASA OWN CORRESPONDENT
The target of her wrath has been Vice President Joice Mujuru, whom she accuses of corruption and extortion.
While ordinarily such accusations should see several fingers being pointed at the beleaguered vice-president, instead, it has been Grace who has been the subject of jokes and countless memes on the Internet and social media.
The nature of the jokes raises questions on whether Grace was winning her fight in the never defined court of public opinion.
A WhatsApp message purportedly written by Mujuru has gone viral, disparaging Grace and making all sorts of accusations about the First Lady.
Another brutal attack comes from a Facebook page purportedly belonging to Mujuru, which subtly insinuated that Grace was like a mad person with a whistle.
It could not be immediately verified whether the account did indeed belong to the vice-president.
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Another message circulating on the instant messaging service, WhatsApp, says Grace had destroyed Zanu PF in one week.
“It took England 30 years to try and destroy Zanu PF and it failed, but it only took Dr Grace one week to do it, now do you still question her degree?” reads the message, a backhanded reference to her doctor of philosophy degree which has been roundly questioned.
One of the most popular memes has been one showing a mobile screen insinuating that one can get a PhD through money transfer agency, EcoCash.
Questions abound on how long it took Grace to complete her PhD and some messages have made fun about this, insinuating she did not study for it at all and some of her findings were obvious.
“I have also discovered that girls have more risk of getting pregnant than boys,” a tweet said, quite contemptuous of Grace’s research findings.
The number of memes and jokes seem to be growing by the day, some rude and ungracious of the First Lady.
While Mujuru is clearly winning the sympathy war on social networks, questions remain on whether her silence indicates that she will put up a fight for her post or whether the marauding Grace has prevailed.
“In as much as there might be merit in what she (Grace) says, we tend to sympathise with Mujuru’s predicament, not because the accusations are true or false, but because of the merciless manner the drama is unfolding,” university lecturer Shepherd Mpofu, opined.
For others, Mujuru’s silence is a sign of maturity, while others think she is scared and has been cornered. The only way for her was to hand in her resignation.
But as Zanu PF’s December elective congress draws closer, the number of jokes will also grow, providing comic relief at a time of Zanu PF’s increasingly tragicomic politics.
