University of Zimbabwe publishes Grace Mugabe's thesis
The University of Zimbabwe has published former First Lady Grace Mugabe's PhD
thesis after an anti-corruption watchdog said it was investigating whether the
wife of ousted President Robert Mugabe was wrongly awarded a doctorate three
years ago.
Grace graduated in 2014, the same year she launched her career in the
ruling ZANU-PF party, a power push that led ultimately to November's de facto
coup by political rivals worried she was set to take over from her
husband.
In contravention of its normal practice, the university did not publish her
226-page thesis, entitled "The changing social structure and functions of the
family: The case of children's homes in Zimbabwe", until this week, when it was
released on its website.
Read the full document here http://ir.uz.ac.zw/handle/10646/3463
It was not clear why Grace, who runs a children's home near her family
dairy farm outside Harare, used her second name and maiden surname - Ntombizodwa
G Marufu - for the paper.
University of Zimbabwe vice chancellor Levi Nyagura did not respond to
calls for comment.
There had been widespread speculation that Grace had been fraudulently
awarded the doctorate, which was dedicated to her husband "because of his
dedication and commitment to the well-being of the people of Zimbabwe".
But Grace, who was lauded as "learned mother of the nation" by adulating
followers, defended her academic record, telling a ZANU-PF rally in September
that she had earned her PhD when her detractors thought otherwise.
In its abstract, Grace acknowledged that one weakness of her research was
that "some interviewees tended to tell me what they thought I wanted to
hear".
Goodson Nguni, lead investigator at the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption
Commission, could not be reached for comment on whether the anti-graft agency
would continue with its probe.
New President Emmerson Mnangagwa has made fighting corruption a top priority.
Mnangagwa, 75, told the World Economic Forum in Davos this week Mugabe and his
wife Grace had not been granted immunity from prosecution.
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