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Harare – Zimbabwe's former deputy president, Joice Mujuru, has reportedly said that the country owes former first lady Grace Mugabe "gratitude", as she "fast tracked" her husband's fall in November last year.
According to New Zimbabwe.com, Mujuru, who is now the leader of the opposition National People's Party (NPP), said that the former first lady's behaviour in the past three years led to her ageing husband Robert Mugabe's ouster.
Mujuru said this when she made her first address to community leaders in the country's Mashonaland Central province.
She said that through her "meet the people tours", which culminated in her (Mujuru's) ouster on charges of undermining and plotting to overthrow Mugabe's government, Grace "laid the foundations of her husband's removal".
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Mujuru said Grace attacked everyone and as a result, left her ageing husband with a number of enemies both within the ruling Zanu-PF party and opposition parties.
She said that without Grace's continued attack on her perceived enemies in the ruling party, no one would have removed Mugabe from his post.
"Citizens and the world over need to see the positive out of Grace's conduct and where Mugabe is today after 37 years in power," Mujuru was quoted as saying.
Mugabe was removed after the military temporarily took control of the country on November 15, as internal feuding escalated in Zanu-PF over his succession.
The takeover which the army said was targeting Mugabe's corrupt allies came days after the 93-year-old leader had fired then deputy president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had strong military ties and was widely tipped as the likely successor.
Grace had indicated interest in succeeding her nonagenarian husband.
The army's intervention was followed by mass street protests against Mugabe and a motion to impeach the veteran ruler who resigned in a letter to parliament as proceedings to recall him began.
The ruling Zanu-PF party then appointed Mnangagwa as Mugabe's replacement, leading to his inauguration as the country's president on November 24.
