By Tinoonga Mawere, Masvingo | An unidentified man stunned police officers manning a roadblock along the Masvingo -Mutare high when he resisted arrest and produced First Lady Grace Mugabe’s poster during the scuffle.
The incident happened near Mutimurefu Prison when the man driving a Honda CRV vehicle from Mutare to Masvingo was stopped by police officers who confronted him over an expired motor vehicle insurance disc.
Police sources say the man then produced Mrs Mugabe’s poster and told the police officers to phone the First Lady for clarity on why his vehicle did not have current insurance cover.
“We were at a roadblock on Saturday and the man had an expired insurance disc and as we asked him, he immediately told us to phone the First Lady for the explanation. He then produced the First Lady’s poster. After that he drove off since nothing further could be done. We realised that the issue was beyond our control since it had turned political. You cannot risk your position over such matters,”said a female police officer .
The incident has reflected Mrs Mugabe’s growing influence in and out of Zanu PF since the police officers were afraid of apprehending the man because he produced Mrs Mugabe’s poster.
It has also emerged Grace Mugabe is solely in charge of Zanu PF since her ageing husband has literally handed over power to her.
Local political analysts say the fact that the police developed cold feet after seeing Mrs Mugabe’s poster, indicates Grace’s growing political influence.