Zimbabwean ruling party supporters hold rally in support of First Family

HARARE, Aug. 31 –The Zimbabwean ruling party Zanu-PF Wednesday
held a rally in solidarity with First Lady Grace Mugabe Wednesday and to
show support for the First Family as a whole.

Messages delivered at the gathering presided over by the party’s secretary
for administration Ignatius Chombo hovered around tissue of internal party
squabbles while ignoring the diplomatic tiff the First Lady was involved in
while in South Africa two weeks ago.The First Lady had to invoke diplomatic
immunity cover to evade court after she allegedly assaulted 20-year-old
model Gabriella Engels whom she had found in the company of her two sons in
their room. With the South African police wanting to interview her and
human rights group AfriForum pushing for her prosecution, the South African
government said it recognized her diplomatic immunity status and allowed
her to leave the country.

Grace left with President Robert Mugabe who had been attending a SADC
summit there. While commissar for Harare Province, Shadreck Mashayamombe
denied Tuesday that the solidarity rally had anything to do with what
transpired in South Africa, one of the placards displayed at the rally —
written in a mixture of English and the vernacular Shona — said Masvingo
Province had declared that “Engels is not an angel.”Many Zimbabweans had
however expressed concern over a possible backlash by militant South
Africans who could attack their loved ones there if the rally turned out to
be supporting the First Lady over the South African incident. Chombo spoke
on the need for discipline in the party and preparations for the 2018
elections. “If we love our President and the First Lady, just as we have
displayed by today’s meeting, let’s take the same enthusiasm and energy to
our provinces and vote so that we deliver all the constituencies to
Zanu-PF. The First Lady and President Mugabe will be very happy,” he said.
He also criticized some war veterans for engaging in divisive activities in
the party. – XINHUA