Hong Kong’s controversial connection with Zimbabwe’s first couple, Robert and ‘Gucci Grace’ Mugabe
Likely facing the end of his iron-fisted reign, Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old president Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace’s previous sojourns to the city have showcased their extravagant – and violent – ways
As the country’s biggest foreign investor, China will continue to play a significant role in a new Zimbabwe following the military takeover of the country on Wednesday and likely ouster of its 93-year-old president Robert Mugabe.
Mugabe, who has ruled the African nation with an iron fist since it gained independence from Britain in 1980, is under house arrest, marking what many expect to be the start of a power transition.
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But Hong Kong too has a connection with Mugabe and his family, though it is made up of encounters steeped in controversy.
Several star Mugabe’s colourful – and much younger – wife Grace, whose trips to the city served to indulge an appetite for high-end shopping so voracious it would make former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos blush.
The couple first met when Grace, now 52, worked as Mugabe’s secretary. They later married and had two children.