Grace Mugabe believes that “demons” have affected her sons

By Brilliant Pongo | OCRadio |

Grace Mugabe, must not attempt to deal with her delinquent sons on her own. She now needs serious prayer and emotional support.

Any parent will tell you that confronting a wayward child, who is a young adult is a challenge. Particularly, when they are being totally unreasonable and are away from home.

First Lady Grace Mugabe and her husband, President Robert Mugabe, have in the recent past both shared their anguish over the continuing errant behaviour of sons — Robert Junior and Chatunga Bellarmine —the exasperated president and his wife have had to deal with the ridiculous and shameful behaviour of their sons which has caught the attention of the Zimbabwean public and international media.

The Mugabe boys Robert Junior and his young brother Chatunga have caused sleepless nights for the first lady Grace Mugabe. No one can certainly, quantify the toll this has had on the nonagenarian president.

The two brothers whose unacceptable ways have led to their ejection from an upmarket private residence in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates managed to create a diplomatic standoff between Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The Mugabe sons keep rolling

Poverty in Zimbabwe seems like a fact of life. Political and economic crises in recent years have exacerbated poverty and brought with it a host of social problems for the majority. However, it is not so, for the Mugabe boys. They have been splashing cash out and living very opulently in one of Africa’s richest suburbs.

According to some property experts Sandton remains the premier area for property in Gauteng. This sophisticated area offers world class restaurants and drinks venues, entertainment and high end shopping.

As if to mock the poverty-stricken majority in Zimbabwe, the Mugabe boys have embraced the prodigal son attitude with an added display of peevishness. They have lived a life of waste, spending recklessly as if money to them grows on trees. One wonders where and how they accrued all these resources?   The president’s boys are not only wasting money but it seems the first lady and the president are now worried that they are wasting away their lives.

The prodigal sons

Indeed, there is another type of waste that weighs more heavily on many parents than financial resources—the life of a prodigal child.

The core meaning of the word prodigal is ‘waste’. The famous prodigal son from Jesus’ parable in Luke 15:11-32 not only wasted the material possessions of his inheritance and much of his life. But, he also did much worse. He wasted, through rebellion and foolishness, his precious relationship with his father.

Let’s be candid. All of us Christian parents, no matter what our background, parenting style, or level of spiritual maturity, share a common fear—that a child will become a prodigal. There is no jolt of agony that compares to the child who says with his words and his behaviour, “I reject you, your values, your lifestyle, your God.”

It appears the president and the first lady have not one but two prodigal sons. Double trouble, two actively rampant and rebellious as we speak.

We desperately desire that this will never happen in our homes. But it can and does. And for those who must come to grips with a prodigal child, it can seem like the world is coming to an end.

One can only imagine what it must be like for a parent in their 90’s like president Mugabe? Although, it is believed that President Mugabe left it to his wife to discipline the children.

What is a prodigal child?

What is a prodigal child? First, it’s important to realise that many children may exhibit troubling or rebellious behaviour, but are not full-blown prodigals. If your child wears a different hairstyle, gets a piercing, is moody or depressed. Comes home with C’s on his report card, or becomes angry when told to empty the bins or clean the house, that doesn’t make him a prodigal. I count these part of the norm for preteens and teenagers.

A true prodigal child will show extreme defiance and rebellion as a pattern over an extended period of time. In fact, the word “defiance” catches it all—a stubborn, rebellious spirit that challenges authority, refuses to acknowledge responsibility for faults, and doesn’t embrace the truth.

The Mugabe sons fit the prodigal son category. Perhaps, this is why Grace Mugabe has publicly lamented that her son’s drink and drug lifestyle has left her with “sleepless nights” and has asked for divine intervention.

Why they do it

There are many factors behind prodigal behaviour. One can be a dry relationship between one or both parents and the child. If for whatever reason the parents are not securely tethered to the child and are not relationally filling the child’s emotional tank, the child will seek replenishment from peers, who may be running on empty themselves. The values of these peers may be extremely hostile to what mom and dad believe, and the war for the child’s heart is on.

Sometimes, however, there just seems to be no single identifiable cause for a child’s rebellion. And whether or not we can point to a particular reason, we can trust the Bible’s insight. Solomon commented, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15). That means every child has a bent toward foolishness, and in some children the foolishness sprouts and blooms into prodigal behaviour.

It’s “demons” says first lady

Grace Mugabe believes that “demons” have affected Robert Mugabe Junior and Chatunga Bellarmine Mugabe. She attributes this as the cause of their “wild” behaviour.

The Mugabe sons used to live in Dubai in a palatial house rented by their parents. However, they had to leave suddenly, allegedly in connection with incidents connected with drug or alcohol abuse.

They are supposed to be studying in Johannesburg. However, they are well known at various luxury night spots where they are reportedly generous with their cash for imported champagne.

Having managed to get themselves evicted from their luxury Johannesburg apartment. Because of a drunken brawl in which a security guard was injured. Their violent mother got them kicked out of a hotel that they had moved into this past weekend. Grace Mugabe, allegedly launched a vicious attack on 20-year-old model Gabriella Engels. This resulted in yet another eviction for the Mugabe’s.

Let’s pray for the first family

There is no justifying the actions of Zimbabwe’s first lady. Is it any wonder that her sons, persist in self-destructive behaviour (drugs, drinking, sexual activity and violence?) If their mother, a whole first lady, a mother to a nation, flagrantly contravenes rules and cross all boundaries, beating up people willy-nilly?

There is certainly a demonic influence and a spirit of violence that has possessed the Mugabe’s. And as such, we must pray for them. God is fully capable of grabbing your child’s attention. The Good Shepherd does not lose sheep. Ask, and keep asking. The apostle James wrote, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5;16).

There is still hope for Mugabe, to repent. there is still time for him to sort his family out. May be this is why God has kept him and preserved his live for so long.