By Mugabe's Grace

THERE'S a new power behind the throne in Zimbabwe: Grace Marufu. At a lavish wedding ceremony which went on all weekend of August 17-18, ident Robert Mugabe's former secretary introduced to the Zimbabwean people his wife. No doubt, the wedding bash be talked about for years, but right now ple are more interested in the political ence 31-year-old Marufu could wield in this southern African state, directly and through her new husband.

That she could be a power to reckon with is obvious from the fact that the ruling ZANU-PF sponsored a series of advertisements, describing Marufu as "the great one we have all been waiting for". And while, the new first lady, who is 41 years younger than the president, has no political experience, government officials say privately that during her 10-year relationship with Mugabe, she used to order officers to do her bidding.

Marufu has refused to comment on these charges but Mugabe over the wedding weekend accused some local newspapers of trying to destroy their marriage. Grace Mugabe told Zimbabwe state media last week that she would devote most of her time to her family (they have two children, aged 10 and eight, both born before Mugabe's first wife died in 1992) and charity organisations.

There is also much curiosity whether the first lady—whose brother told wedding guests that his sister was "at the right place at the right time" to win the president's love—would influence Mugabe's retirement plans. Mugabe—Zimbabwe's sole ruler since it won independence from Britain in 1980—is widely expected to retire at the end of his current six-year-term in 2002. "A younger wife may just persuade him to continue," says a political analyst.

The race to succeed Mugabe is packed and there is no clear indication who will take over his mantle. The opposition is seen as too divided and weak to provide a successor.

As for the wedding itself, thousands of guests, invited and uninvited, swarmed to the dusty rural mission station of Kutama, 80 km west of Harare, to witness their president's marriage. Kutama, Mugabe's home village and the prestigious Jesuit college where Mugabe was educated buzzed with excitement, as music blared and beer flowed. The best man was Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano. Sam Nujoma from Nambia and Ketumile Masire from Botswana were also present.

As was South African President Nelson Mandela who refused to divulge his own marriage plans, saying: "Women are cautious of an old man like me."

바카라 웹사이트What started as an uneventful, if crowded, church ceremony quickly degenerated into a chaotic reception. Many guests who arrived early took seats in the VIP section, refusing to make way for the diplomatic staff when the reception officially began. One South African left in a huff when a member of Zimbabwe's militant black consciousness business organisation refused to budge. And Zimbabwe's notoriously heavy-handed security agents from the Central Intelligence Organisation manI handled a South African TV news crew down a flight of stairs after the crew tried to interview Mandela.

And despite assurances from Mugabe that taxpayers' money would not be used, the burden on the exchequer was evident. The catering for 15,000 was supplied by the Army, with assistance from the university and local technical colleges. A local caterer from a Zimbabwean hotel chain estimated that food alone would account for as much as a third of the much touted, but unconfirmed, budget. Moreover, the wedding did not end on Saturday itself. About 200 people, who spent the night under tents, embarked on a second drinking orgy the next day.

The state also supplied a massive police and military presence, with the entire 80 km stretch from Harare to Kutama manned by police in shiny new Mercedes and on siren-wailing BMW patrol bikes. And the mission itself was secured by soldiers and air force helicopters.

Independent estimates put the wedding expenses at 5 million rands ($1.1 million). Mugabe has promised to settle the bill personally, but observers point out it will be the taxpayer who will have to bear the cost of hundreds of police and troops providing security at Kutama and on the roads leading to it. The taxpayer could also end up footing the bill for municipal ambulances stationed at Kutama and state transport that included three helicopters to ferry the four visiting heads of state between Harare airport and Kutama.

It was estimated that it would take four days to clean up the grounds. Officials said nearly 40,000 people had turned up, but independent estimates put the figure at no more than 15,000. And the most interesting statistic of all: security authorities caught 1,500 gate-crashers.바카라 웹사이트