From the first lady to nothing

Grace Mugabe was a former first lady of Zimbabwe. In this video, we look at her rise from humble beginnings and her life as the first lady. Her husband Robert Mugabe is a man that needs no introduction, but to understand his legacy and 37-year rule of Zimbabwe, we need to dive deep into Grace Mugabe. The life she lived as the first lady reflects exactly who Robert Mugabe was.

She’s been accused of sleeping around with other men behind the back of president Mugabe.

Rise to power

Starting as a secretary to the president, she rose in the ranks of the ruling ZANU–PF party to become the head of its Women’s League and a key figure in the Generation 40 faction. At the same time, she gained a reputation for privilege and extravagance during a period of economic turmoil in the country. She was given the nickname Gucci Grace due to her extravagance. She was expelled from the party, with other G40 members, during the 2017 Zimbabwean coup d’état.

After the death of Robert Mugabe’s wife Sally Hayfron, the extramarital affairs of the two love birds could no longer be hidden from the public. Robert Mugabe sent her first husband to China and moved his new wife Grace to the presidential palace.

She married air force pilot Stanley Goreraza and they had a son, Russell Goreraza, born in 1984 when Grace was 19 years old.

Whilst working as secretary to the president, Robert Mugabe, she became his mistress at a time when she was still married to Stanley Goreraza – and had two children, Bona born in 1988, named after Mugabe’s mother, and Robert Peter Jr.