Bulawayo, August 26 (IPS) – On Friday, November 24, 2017, Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as interim leader in a colorful ceremony at the National Sports Stadium in the capital, Harare. , after President Robert Mugabe was ousted in a military coup more than a week ago.
Sitting beside Mnangagwa was his wife, Auxillia, dressed in a white outfit and some expensive gold jewelry. The pair look like supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF party and critics of Mugabe cheering for the opening of a “Second Republic”, “New Zimbabwe” and “New Age”.
At this point, Auxillia, a former Central Intelligence Organization agent and former member of parliament who married Mnangagwa in 1984, is seen by many Zimbabweans as a “loving woman, gentle and caring” commonly known as Amai. This Shona name translates as mother.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, Auxillia focused on her philanthropic work to support and uplift disadvantaged communities, including women, girls and people with disabilities.
However, nearly five years later, Auxillia has gone too far and seems to be following in the footsteps of her predecessor, Grace Mugabe, nicknamed ‘Gucci Grace’ for her lavish shopping sprees in New York, Paris and Singapore.
Auxillia’s charity work is now heavily funded by the State, she has appeared in the State Herald newspaper and on Zimbabwean Television, and she runs official government business.
Zimbabwean journalist and writer Douglas Rogers, in his book Mugabe: Two weeks and journalist Geoffrey Nyarota with The Useless Fall of Robert Mugabe: The End of a Dictator’s Reign, capture Grace’s story.
Shy receptionist Grace, who officially married Mugabe in 1996, was awarded a controversial PhD in Sociology by the University of Zimbabwe at a time when her ally Jonathan Moyo was Minister of Higher Education.
Reports emerged that Grace had failed to defend her thesis and not given the time needed for one to complete a doctorate, and the conferment was challenged in court.
Grace came to power that same year when she became heavily involved in the political affairs and the Shameful State of Zanu-PF.
She influenced her husband, Mugabe to appoint young politicians from her faction, Generation 40, and even summoned government ministers and attended hearings.
Grace has Joice Mujuru and seven veterans affiliated cabinet ministers, sacked by Mugabe in December 2014 before overthrowing Mnangagwa in a fierce battle that ended in November 2017 – weeks after Mugabe fired his deputy.
She uses the gatherings of Zanu-PF against her opponents, including army generals who accuse them of working with Mnangagwa to overthrow Africa’s longtime ruler and great power. .
In 2018, Mnangagwa and his Lacoste faction, who accused Grace of taking over government functions prior to the coup, warned his wife, Aucillia, from interfering with his government duties.
However, since then, everything has changed. In the Herald, a group of reporters seemed to have become Auxillia’s own correspondents. They include her charity work, and the folks from ‘The First Lady’s Office’ seem to have the final say on what’s going on. publishing editor.
Kudakwashe Munemo, a political analyst, told IPS there was a lack of transparency about the sources of funds going to Auxillia’s charity.
“As a country, we do not have the official office of the spouse of anyone elected as President. That distinction is key, as we should not confuse programs run by the President’s spouse and government programs, especially when state resources are involved. with official government business expenses,” he said.
Maxwell Saungweme, a political analyst, said the problem Zimbabwe is facing is that there is no clear distinction between the Mnangagwa family, the ruling party, the Zanu-PF and state-owned enterprises.
“What she is doing is part of the party-state-military rotation and in this case the family-state combination,” he said.
“She certainly didn’t learn from Grace and the other first ladies in Africa who didn’t go their separate ways while their husbands were in government and state business. Everything she is trying to do is wrong.”
Auxillia, who travels around the country using green-light security details and sometimes on police motorbikes clearing roads and blocking traffic, a privilege enjoyed by some top government officials, has been conferred the title. many different titles from ambassador to patron of some State agencies.
In May, Auxilia was conferred Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree (Honoris Causa) at Goenka College of Education in Gurugram Haryana, India, in recognition of her charitable work.
In addition, in May, Auxillia officially opened the African Elephant Conference, held in Hwange, a resort town 335 km from Zimbabwe’s second largest city Bulawayo, ahead of the 2022 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Although Auxillia is the patron of the Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Sector, political analysts say she took on the government function because the conference was a meeting between nations with attended by ministers from 14 African countries.
“The role of First Ladies or the spouses of leaders varies across political jurisdictions, with some preferring them to stay in the background while others allow them to play an active role. more extreme,” political analyst Vivid Gwede told IPS.
“When they are allowed to play an active role, this does not come in conflict or competition with government officials and ministers which is usually ceremonial.”
In Zimbabwe, he said, the dynamic first lady easily crossed the line and caused many problems.
“This is beyond questions of transparency and accountability in the use of public resources,” Gwede said.
Rashweat Mukundu, a political analyst, said the “Office of the First Lady” should reflect the soft side of the President.
“There is nothing wrong with Auxillia doing charity work. What is concerning is the abuse of that position for partisan politics. It could be political lobbying or any other office that excludes other groups. This is because the Office of the First Lady must be a unified office. It should be an office that reflects the common interests of citizens across the entire political divide,” he said.
He said accountability was an area that needed to be looked at to ensure that State resources were not being used for partisan politics.
“The challenge is that we don’t have an accountability mechanism that determines how much money the State allocates to the Office of the First Lady. If the First Lady is as energetic as the current First Lady, it is an opportunity for the First Lady to do activities that unite us rather than those that divide us further,” he said. .
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