US ambassador said Grace seems to have aged

Former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee said First Lady Grace Mugabe “appeared to have aged significantly, looking much older than forty-four and much thinner than she appeared in recent photographs” when she attended a function in honour of visiting Swazi King Mswati III in June 2009.

The function was held at the Rainbow Towers and was attended by Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara among others. King Mswati was on his way to Victoria Falls to attend a COMESA meeting.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 09HARARE465, ZIMBABWEAN STATE DINNER HONORING THE KING OF SWAZILAND

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TAGS: PHUM ASEC KDEM PGOV PREL ZI

SUBJECT: ZIMBABWEAN STATE DINNER HONORING THE KING OF SWAZILAND

¶1. (U) On June 3, President Robert Mugabe held a State dinner at the

Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare in honor of visiting King Mswati III

of Swaziland. The dinner occurred before King Mswati departed to

Victoria Falls for the COMESA Summit. Mugabe thanked the King for

his support of the inclusive government and stressed the importance

of continued cooperation between the two countries, especially on

the economic front.

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Government of Zimbabwe Representation

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¶2. (SBU) Poloff attended the dinner along with other diplomats and

leading members of Zimbabwe’s busines community. Representing the

Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) at the event were President Mugabe and

First Lady Grace Mugabe, Vice President Joyce Mujuru, Deputy Prime

Minister Arthur Mutambara, General Constantine Chiwenga and the

Mayor of Harare, Muchadeyi Masunda. King Mswati was accompanied by

his fourteenth wife, who sat next to the First Lady during the

dinner. (COMMENT: First Lady Mugabe appeared to have aged

significantly, looking much older than forty-four and much thinner

than she appeared in recent photographs. END COMMENT.)

——————————————— ——-

Continued Cooperation between Zimbabwe and Swaziland

——————————————— ——-

¶3. (U) During his ten-minute toast to King Mswati, Mugabe thanked

the King for his continued support of Zimbabwe. He highlighted two

recent visits the King had made to Zimbabwe, and thanked him for

coming to the swearing-in of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. He

stressed the need for African countries to work together through

trade to build their economies. Mugabe said that it was important

for Zimbabwe and Swaziland to continue to cooperate, especially on

the economic front, and to become partners in trade. Mugabe also

touted recent progress and cited the lifting of “unjustified” travel

warnings by western nations and the upcoming meetings between GOZ

officials and the United States Government as evidence of this

progress. During a brief speech, King Mswati also stressed the

importance of a strong relationship between Zimbabwe and Swaziland.

However, King Mswati’s speech also underlined the need for the

inclusive government to succeed and for stability in Zimbabwe.

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COMMENT

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¶4. (SBU) President Mugabe’s toast framed the current situation in

Zimbabwe in a positive light. Notably, Mugabe only mentioned the

West’s “illegal” sanctions once. Most of the people attending the

dinner were local businessmen and women and members of the

diplomatic community. However, because the COMESA Summit had

already begun, many key government officials were not present. END

Qalready begun, many key government officials were not present. END

COMMENT.

MCGEE

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