Zimbabwe : Grace Mugabe, elephants and the 'fringe benefits' of power

There was no doubt that Grace Mugabe tried her hands at many things while her husband held sway in Zimbabwe. There were stories of supermarkets, property portfolios, farms and others.

Now, the erstwhile First Lady is under investigation over claims that she was involved in the smuggling of ivory poached from Zimbabwe’s national parks. This followed reports that she ''spirited large consignments of ivory to China, the United Arab Emirates and the US among other destinations” before her husband was deposed as president.





The investigation was triggered when Adrian Steirn, an Australian journalist who spent three months undercover examining poaching networks.  He claimed that Mrs Mugabe used her status to bypass airport security and smuggle elephant tusks and rhino horns out of the country.




Elections are set to be held in Zimbabwe before the end of August, however no date has been fixed.