Zimbabwean anti-corruption investigators have been probing whether Mugabe fraudulently obtained a doctorate that she apparently received within months, the dissertation for which was only made public recently.Mugabe, whose apparent desire to succeed her husband prompted the army takeover that eventually saw Robert Mugabe resign, was awarded a PhD by the University of Zimbabwe in 2014.

Critics argued at the time that Grace Mugabe had not actually studied or undertaken research to earn the doctorate and that she had been handed her diploma just months after enrolling. PhDs typically require several years of full-time research and writing.