Lloyd Mbiba • 18 November 2014 8:56AM • 15 comments
HARARE - First Lady Grace Mugabe took another pot shot at the Daily News yesterday, claiming that she gets bored and worried when she does not see a story maligning her in the paper.
Delivering her closing remarks to hundreds of people bussed from all over the country to her Mazowe business hub, Grace accused Zimbabwe’s leading daily paper — which was violently and unjustly shut down by her husband’s government in September 2003, and which only returned to the news stalls in late March 2011 — of waging a war against her.
She once again called on the Daily News reporters to identify themselves at her rally, but no one dared to as the mood was very tense, amid threats by her supporters, including national youth brigade graduates, to deal with anyone perceived to be sympathetic to Mujuru.
“They (Vice President Mujuru and her allies) go with their lies to the Daily News and now the paper is theirs. No one can dispute that the Daily News is an MDC paper and when you see it supporting her you know that I am vindicated.
“Sometimes I get worried when I see no story about me on (sic) the
Daily News. I get shocked when I read no bad story about me on (sic) the Daily News. Continue writing, I don’t care. I will never sue or do anything to you. After all you are Zimbabweans,” Grace said.
Mugabe’s wife went on to predict that journalists at the popular newspaper would one day confess to her that they were used (ostensibly by Mujuru) to write lies about her.
“One day, you will come to me and say amai what we were writing were pure lies.
“But what I ask you to do is that when you pray you should ask God whether what you are doing is worth it,” Grace added.
President Robert Mugabe’s wife went on to urge journalists to use their talent and skills to promote the nation.
“You are children of Zimbabwe and you should always do good to your nation. Use your talent to do good things. Don’t write lies. Don’t say we don’t have sanctions when we have sanctions,” she said.
Last month, the First Lady made outrageous and patently false claims that Mujuru had bought a 10 percent shareholding in the Daily News.
Stan Gama, the ANZ group editor, said it was gratifying to note that the First Lady had realised the error of her ways and was no longer peddling the falsehood that Mujuru owned a 10 percent stake in the newspaper.
“We are very grateful to see that she is correcting herself, particularly noting also that she did not incite anyone to be violent against our staff,” he said.
“I also want to thank her again profusely for the good marketing job that she continues to do for our newspaper. I hope that she will be pleased to hear that since she entered formal politics and started marketing the Daily News its circulation has jumped by 30 percent, which is fantastic news,” Gama said lightheartedly.