FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe yesterday told hundreds of Zanu PF supporters who welcomed her at the Harare International Airport that she was in good health and now felt “as fit as ever” after undergoing her third successive surgery in the Far East last month. STAFF REPORTER
Grace, who arrived in the morning accompanied by President Robert Mugabe, briefly addressed party supporters where for the first time she publicly disclosed her medical history and revealed that the latest surgery to remove a nagging appendix was the third one after the first one in 1986 to remove tonsils and the second one in 1996 when she had a gall bladder surgery.
She, however, said despite those minor surgeries, she was fit to drive the women’s league agenda.
“Mrs Stop it”, as she is affectionately known in Zanu PF circles after she led the crusade that caused the fall of former Vice-President Joice Mujuru, urged female party members to work hard despite the economic challenges haunting the country.
Mugabe was the first to break the news of his wife’s ill health when he came back into the country, minus his wife, after a six-week holiday with his family in the Far East.
“She did not know for a long time what the problem was. She is out of hospital now and she is resting,” Mugabe said then.
Appendicitis is the inflammation of the appendix and common symptoms are abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and decreased appetite.
Severe complications of a ruptured appendix include widespread painful inflammation of the inner lining of the abdominal wall and sepsis.
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The First Family’s health status had all along been regarded as a closely-guarded secret until recently when Mugabe disclosed that he regularly visits Singapore and other countries in the Far East for medical check-ups.
The secrecy about the First Family’s health created fertile ground for speculative reports.
Grace is now viewed as the face of Zimbabwean politics as she is believed to wield enormous influence on political appointments and decisions made by Mugabe who turns 91 next week.
