When the First Lady did my laundry

02 Aug, 2015 - 00:08 0 Views
When the First Lady did my laundry Dr Grace Mugabe

The Sunday Mail

First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe (Picture by Believe Nyakudjara)

First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe (Picture by Believe Nyakudjara)

On the occasion of First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe’s 50th birthday on July 23, 2015, The Sunday Mail’s Emilia Zindi spoke to President Mugabe’s sister, Pastor Dr Regina Gata, about her relationship with her sister-in-law.

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I thank God for giving the Mugabe family this daughter-in-law called Amai Grace Mugabe. Though she is younger than me, I call her “Amai”.

First, because she is the wife of the man who has fathered me. President Mugabe is the one who raised me, paid my tuition fees and oversaw my marriage. He is, therefore, my father. Second; she is “Amai” because of her deeds. A loving person, Amai Mugabe unites the family and calls me her “first born”. My other sisters-in-law vekwaKarigamombe do not hold similar positions as hers, but she loves them all without any discrimination. One is amazed at how they interact in merriment – it is as though they were siblings. Some of them are older than her and she gives them due respect.

She also ensures both the Marufu and Mugabe families attend functions together.

I was present when some pastors visited Grace Mugabe Children’s Home in Mazowe. I sat with everyone else, but, alas, she spotted me, and arranged that I sit at the high table. Later, I asked how she had spotted me. She replied, “Blood is thicker than water. How can I not see my own?”

At the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair 2013, I again sat with the rest of the gathering. Somehow, she picked me from the throng and directed that I be given a seat next to her. And when the guest of honour – then Malawi President Joyce Banda – arrived, she introduced me to her, saying, in jest, that she did not want the Malawi leader to boast of being the only one with sisters-in-law!

As a family, we might view certain things differently. If this happens, she does not keep grudges. This is an important virtue, a Christian virtue. She forgives and carries on loving as though there never were any disagreements. She does not like looking at past wrongs. We also appreciate how she has raised their children as she has helped the President and I in this regard. I thank God as it would not have been easy for us, the aunts, to always be teaching the children.

And also the President’s demanding job hardly permitted him to spend a lot of time with them, but she has stood in our stead. She has remained alert to her duty of raising the children despite being First Lady. At times, one would find her supervising, say, Bellarmine’s homework.

She has always told the children to prepare for their future and not relax just because they are the President’s children.

She brought up Ouma (Bona) well, and then saw her get married in a proper manner that made us proud.

I thank God. I would not have been able to monitor Ouma at State House! When we visited them, you would hear her say, “Ouma, tora dish upe tete tikapedza kudya.”

Ouma always knelt to greet me.

The boys – as big as they are – do the same. She even taught them to tidy things; to clear the table after eating.

All this makes me happy. Amai Mugabe has helped us raise these children, bringing them up with good values.

We travelled abroad for Bona’s university graduation, and something really touched me while we were there.

The First Lady, at one point, said to me, “Atete, give me your laundry so I can do it for you.” I declined. She insisted, so I was left with no option. What happened afterwards amazed me: She did not only wash my clothes; she pressed them, too.

That’s something I will always remember. She is a God-fearing person who is not ashamed of it and prays for her family and Zimbabwe. She is caring; of a strong character and does not show off. She is a no-nonsense person and this is where we are most alike. The Lord knows she cares and has given her a name: “A woman for God’s Glory”.

That’s what comes into my prayers.

The Holy Spirit revealed to me that her compassion for the less-privileged is genuine; that’s the person she is.

Pakushanda igamba iro riya!

She can put on gum-boots and work in the garden alongside their employees. She grows lots of vegetables.

We have spoken about her in the garden: She resembles that woman in the Book of Proverbs in the Bible. At home, she cannot just sit; she is either sewing household items or her own clothes. She takes care of orphans; works; looks after her husband and unites us as a family.

I’m grateful to have her.

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