Zimpapers Logo

Dr Grace Mugabe

STARTING from humble beginnings to a chapter of defying all odds and achieving the somewhat unimaginable — her life story reads like a fairytale.

First Lady Dr Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe (nee Marufu) fits the bill of a dreamer and achiever who discovered the art of bridging abstract and reality.

She has proved modest backgrounds can never deter a determined spirit.

Born on July 23, 1965, Dr Mugabe celebrated her 52nd birthday last Saturday.

Dr Mugabe graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the 59th University of Zimbabwe graduation ceremony and is the ruling Zanu-PF’s Secretary for Women’s Affairs.

Her thesis focused on the changing social structure and functions of the family. She conducted a case study on children’s homes in Zimbabwe.

The First Lady’s amazing life journey is inspiring.

She was a secretary before she met President Mugabe. The couple tied the knot at a colourful ceremony in 1996. And so Grace Mugabe became First Lady.

She attained her first degree in Chinese Language in 2011 at the People’s University of China. She also continued her philanthropic work that saw her establish a children’s home in Mazowe.

Next to the orphanage is a massive state-of-the-art school she put together with the President.

She became Dr Mugabe after being capped by her husband who is also the UZ chancellor. The President’s smile said it all. The loving smooch told a story.

This particular graduate — out of the 3 274 that were capped on the day — made the Chancellor of the university extremely proud.

Upon graduating, Dr Mugabe said her area of study would help her fine-tune her work in assisting the underprivileged, particularly children.

“I studied something related to the work l do every day. I wanted to know what happens in the society to the extent of having many children being abandoned.

“With the knowledge, I’m able to execute my job because education is the key to success . . . I hope this will inspire other people to follow suit.”