Ray Nkosi | President Robert Mugabe has spoken for the first time revealing sensational details of what happened last November when he was ousted from power by the military junta working with his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mugabe tells guests at his birthday party held at the ‘blue roof’ residence that Grace his wife is just a “young girl” yet they took tanks to fight her, the former Head of State also speaks on the furore surrounding his wife’s PHD saying even if they took it she will remain “Mrs Mugabe.”

The local Standard paper reports Mugabe saying, “This girl here, my wife, is no longer a member of Zanu PF, so what legacy are you talking about? Why fear this girl (pointing at Grace)? She is just young, but they took the tanks to fight her,” Mugabe said before breaking into laughter.

“When Mnangagwa called, I addressed him as president and he said no, ‘don’t address me as president, call me by my first name, Emmerson’. I said no you are the president, this is what you are. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” (Laughs).

He then pleaded with me and I said ‘anyway, I will call you ED since this is what newspapers call you.’” He said the new administration was persecuting Grace by charging people linked to the awarding of her alleged fake Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree.

“They are busy fighting the degree which we all helped her achieve,” Mugabe said. “Even if you were to withdraw the degree, does it change anything? She will remain Mai Mugabe. That will not change.”

Mugabe said during the standoff with the military last November, Chiwenga tried to reconcile him with Mnangagwa to no avail.

“Let me give credit to Chiwenga, he tried to have me engage Mnangagwa, but [Mnangagwa] said, ‘the people have spoken’, I am quoting what he said.

“Which people? MDC people? What about those not in Harare? So today the people we must listen to are opposition supporters? What happened to congress? “They now want to work with me for elections, can they be trusted again?

Ohh, can our people trust them again? Can our people vote for such a Zanu PF, a Zanu PF which shredded the constitution? I don’t know.

“What are we going to tell them? Are they going to convince them that this is what we did? “Speak the truth that people died, that people were intimidated by the gun? I don’t know.”
Mugabe said Zanu PF’s chances of winning this year’s elections were slim following the military takeover.