Government lawyers: ‘No diplomatic

Zimbabwe’s first lady has ‘no leg to stand on’ but efforts are afoot to prevent her appearing in court

The South African government has received legal advice indicating that, despite travelling on a diplomatic passport, Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe does not qualify for diplomatic immunity and may be arrested for allegedly assaulting a Johannesburg woman.

The Mail & Guardian has learned that frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations are underway between Zimbabwe and South Africa in an attempt to devise a plan that will help Mugabe to avoid arrest.

Although Zimbabwe has claimed that Mugabe was in the country as part of a delegation attending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit that starts on Saturday, well-placed government sources have confirmed she had entered the country to seek medical treatment for a leg injury.

On Sunday, reports surfaced that Mugabe allegedly assaulted Gabriella Engels at a Sandton hotel where the 20-year-old model was visiting the first lady’s sons, Robert Jr and Bellarmine.

The M&G understands that advice from lawyers consulted by the South African government indicates that the nature of Mugabe’s visit and the circumstances around the alleged assault disqualify the first lady from diplomatic immunity.

“If she had come here as part of the official delegation of Zimbabwe to participate in the summit, she would have had diplomatic immunity. But even there, it becomes what we call functional immunity. In other words, it’s limited to if she does anything in relation to the summit. If anything goes wrong, she’s covered diplomatically because she’s part of the official delegation,” a senior government official told the M&G.

“So even if right now they retrospectively put her as a travelling member of the delegation that is here for the SADC summit, it would still not be enough because what happened in Sandton is not linked to the summit.”

It’s understood that Mugabe’s arrest is unlikely to be pursued; the high-level negotiations underway suggest that she will be whisked back to Zimbabwe without appearing before a South African court.

One of the tactics is an intention by the Zimbabwean government to interdict any attempts by South