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Zimbabwe: Wife of President Robert Mugabe sounds a lot like him in her debut political rally

Associated Press
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Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe addresses a rally in Chinhoyi, about 120 kilometres west of Harare, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. In her speech Mugabe castigated factionalism in the ruling Zanu PF party, as she embarked on her maiden political rally since been nominated to head the Zanu PF ruling party women's league in July. The rally held in the small farming town of Chinhoyi marked the vivacious 49-year-old's first steps to shore up her political credentials outside President Robert Mugabe's shadow .(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) (The Associated Press)

Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe addresses a rally in Chinhoyi, about 120 kilometres west of Harare, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. In her speech Mugabe castigated factionalism in the ruling Zanu PF party, as she embarked on her maiden political rally since been nominated to head the Zanu PF ruling party women's league in July. The rally held in the small farming town of Chinhoyi marked the vivacious 49-year-old's first steps to shore up her political credentials outside President Robert Mugabe's shadow .(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) (The Associated Press)

Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe addresses a rally in Chinhoyi, about 120 kilometres west of Harare, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014. In her speech Mugabe castigated factionalism in the ruling Zanu PF party, as she embarked on her maiden political rally since been nominated to head the Zanu PF ruling party women's league in July. The rally held in the small farming town of Chinhoyi marked the vivacious 49-year-old's first steps to shore up her political credentials outside President Robert Mugabe's shadow .(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) (The Associated Press)

The wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, whose entry into politics has raised speculation that a leadership dynasty is in the works, is sounding a lot like her husband these days.

At her first political rally, Grace Mugabe lashed out this past week at some senior aides to the president, who is known for fiery and hostile pronouncements aimed at perceived opponents. Mugabe's wife also criticized whites and foreign donors, echoing a long record of anti-Western rhetoric by her 90-year-old husband who has dominated Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

The couple married in 1996. Grace Mugabe recently accepted a nomination to become leader of the women's wing of the ruling party, ZANU-PF. She spoke Thursday to hundreds of supporters in the farming town of Chinhoyi, west of the capital, Harare.