Mugabe will continue to contest for presidency even if he dies - wife says

The wife of Zimbabwe’s president, Grace Mugabe, is courting controversy after she said that her husband, Robert Mugabe is so much loved by people to an extent that even if he dies, he will still be field as a valid candidate in a presidential election.

“If Mugabe dies, we will field his corpse as a candidate for elections to prove that people love him,” she told thousands of supporters at a rally in Buhera, Eastern Zimbabwe.

“You will see people voting for Mugabe as a corpse. I am seriously telling you – just to show people how people love their president,” she added.

She said this during a rally by the ZANU-PF and further accused some members of the party for plotting to take over from President Mugabe.

Grace Mugabe further echoed her husbands role during the guerrilla war against the white rule, adding that Mugabe’s associates were too old to take power.

“Anyone who was with Mugabe in 1980 has no right to tell him he is old. If you want Mugabe to go, then you leave together. You also have to leave. Then we take over because we were not there in 1980,” she said.

The 92 year old Mugabe has increasingly become scarce in the public, while his wife has increased her public engagement in the recent months.

Late last year, the first lady told a women congregation that she was ready to run for the presidency since she was doing everything for her aging husband.

Mugabe is set to turn 93, but critics have scolded him over his age and the tumbling economy. The southern African state has face stiff inflation in the recent years with cash shortages hitting hard on people and the entire economy.