Joburg woman claims Grace Mugabe assaulted her in hotel
A JOHANNESBURG woman has claimed she was assaulted by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s wife‚ Grace.
Gabriella Engels‚ 20‚ alleged that she was assaulted by Grace Mugabe at a Sandton‚ Johannesburg‚ hotel at about 9pm on Sunday after she went to visit the Zimbabwean president’s two sons.
“We were chilling in a hotel room‚ and they were in the room next door‚” Engels said.
“She came in and [allegedly] started hitting us.
“The front of my forehead is busted open.
“I’m a model and I make my money based on my looks.”
She alleged that Mugabe proceeded to beat her and two of her friends with an extension cord‚ while the two sons ran away and the Mugabe bodyguards looked on.
She said she suffered gashes to her forehead and scalp. TimesLIVE has seen images of the injuries. Engels said she went to the nearest police station on Sunday night‚ but was turned away by the police officer on duty‚ who told her to first seek medical attention. Engels’s mother‚ Debbie‚ said they were going to the police station to open an assault case yesterday.
“When she got home [on Sunday], I was already sleeping,” Debbie said.
“She was in so much shock‚ she couldn’t tell me what had happened.
“I rushed her to the hospital to get stitches and when she eventually calmed down‚ she told me she had been assaulted by [Robert] Mugabe’s wife‚” she said.
Calls and a Facebook message to Grace Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba‚ went unanswered yesterday‚ while her son‚ Chatunga Bellarmine‚ also did not respond to messages on Facebook.
Zimbabwean news has reported that Mugabe was in South Africa for treatment following a freak accident in which she injured her right ankle.
Garnet Basson‚ chief executive of The Capital hotel group‚ where the alleged assault took place‚ said there was an incident that prompted management to ask guests to leave the hotel.
“What happened in the hotel room‚ I don’t have a comment on – I can’t disclose the name,” he said.