Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga’s estranged wife says
she fears for her life as unknown people are allegedly stalking her.
Marry told a British newspaper The Times that her life had
been turned upside down since her initial arrest in December last year on
allegations of trying to kill her husband and money laundering.
A divorce battle involving Chiwenga and the former model
transfixed the country with murky allegations of attempted murder, voodoo and
drug addiction. According to Marry (39), however, the reality of her
estrangement from Chiwenga, the former general who toppled Robert Mugabe, is
even darker.
In an interview with The Times, the former model described
“feeling thrown to the wolves”, her terror following late-night car chases and
fears that her calls are being monitored since her 62-year-old husband demanded
a divorce three months ago.
Her comments have shed rare light on the upper echelons of
power in Zimbabwe and painted a picture of lavish wealth enjoyed by an
unaccountable few, while millions lurch towards starvation and the economy
withers.
“I will never be left to live in peace. It will be a life
in and out of jail, or no life at all,” she said following her recent spell in
prison.
Marry is accused of trying to murder her husband and other
charges including money laundering. She insists that she is innocent.
“My protection has been taken away and if anything happened
to me, there would be no witnesses. It could easily be explained away,” she
said.
In papers filed in court, the couple’s wrangling over cash,
a contentious 600-acre farm and luxury cars have been laid bare.
This month she is appealing to the Supreme Court for
custody of the three children she shares with the former army chief: two boys
and a girl aged nine, eight and six.
She said that being refused access to them since her arrest
in December “has broken my heart open”, adding that she fears “command justice”
directed from higher powers will ultimately thwart her efforts.
“It feels like David and Goliath with the state machinery
being used against one woman,” she added.
Born into a wealthy family, Marry met her husband a decade
ago when they were neighbours in an upmarket suburb of Harare.
“I knew nothing of politics and now probably know too
much,” she said in a call from Harare, where she has been staying with her
mother since losing access to the family mansion.
She described her relationship with President Emmerson
Mnangagwa (77) as “very good”, but she is reluctant to draw him into the
turmoil.
“I’ve been involved at the highest level of the ruling
party for a decade and lived through Operation Restore Legacy [the Mugabe
ousting].
“My husband has many enemies — within his own party, the
opposition party and Zimbabweans generally who are facing many challenges now.
“That makes me feel very vulnerable.”
Marry remains a divisive figure. The designer wardrobe and
extravagant lifestyle that she lost in her separation drew comparisons with
Grace Mugabe, the unpopular widow of the late president.
Yet her arrest and willingness to stand up to the feared
Chiwenga, who has been blamed for a string of violent crackdowns, has seen the
public mood soften towards her.
She dismissed the allegations that she disconnected her
husband from life-support equipment at a South African hospital last July, and
questioned why no allegation was made against her until five months later when
Chiwenga demanded a divorce.
“Too much of a
coincidence,” she concluded. She is also accused of illegally transferring
almost US$1million out of Zimbabwe to buy cars and property in neighbouring
South Africa without her husband’s knowledge.
Marry denies laundering money and said that any cash she
had access to was no secret, claiming it had come from cash allowances given to
Zimbabwe’s elite.
“We all got that and if you save it all, it’s enough to buy
you a property outside the country. Everybody has one,” she said. Chiwenga did
not respond to a request for comments.
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