By A Correspondent

Former First Lady Grace Mugabe, once one of Zimbabwe’s most powerful and controversial figures, will turn 60 on July 23, marking a milestone in a life that has been anything but ordinary.

Popularly known as Dr Amai or Dr Stop It during her political peak, Grace Mugabe played a central role in Zimbabwe’s turbulent political landscape—particularly in the dramatic fall of her husband, the late former President Robert Mugabe, in 2017.

A senior ZANU-PF source commented on the upcoming birthday, saying: “The former First Lady, who used to be known as ‘Gucci Grace’—during her hey days—because of her high fashion sense, will soon be 60 on 23 July. Dr Amai Grace Mugabe, 59, is truly getting better with age.”

Grace Mugabe’s political rise was rapid and divisive. She was thrust into the heart of factional battles within ZANU-PF, first as an ally of Team Lacoste—then led by Emmerson Mnangagwa—in a campaign to dislodge then-Vice President Joice Mujuru. Ironically, she later found herself at odds with the same group, culminating in the 2017 military intervention that ended her husband’s decades-long rule.

Despite retreating from the public eye following Mugabe’s ouster and death, Grace Mugabe remains a figure of interest in Zimbabwean politics and society. Her 60th birthday is expected to be marked quietly at the family’s rural retreat in Zvimba.