Model claims Grace Mugabe ‘beat me with extension cord’
Zimbabwe’s first lady remained out of sight yesterday, several days after a young model claimed Grace Mugabe whipped her with an extension cord in a luxury hotel in South Africa.
South African authorities are weighing a request by Zimbabwe’s government for diplomatic immunity for the first lady, who has not commented since the alleged assault last Sunday night.
South African police have issued a “red alert” at its borders to ensure Mugabe doesn’t leave undetected, and they say they are confident the first lady remains in the country.
Police also say their investigation is complete but needs a government decision on the immunity appeal.
Yesterday morning, police had received no official word from the government on the status of the immunity request, police spokesman Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said.
“We are waiting in anticipation as well,” Naidoo said. “People are attacking us left, right and centre but we can’t do anything.”
A spokesman for the department of international relations and co-operation said yesterday there was no update on the immunity request.
Zimbabwe’sgovernmentand state media have not publicly addressed the assault allegations.
The scandal has become a diplomatic mess for South Africa’s government and Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe, who arrived in South Africa’s capital on Wednesday apparently to deal with the crisis. He came early for a regional summit of southern African nations this weekend.
It is not clear whether the Grace Mugabe entered South Africa on a personal or diplomatic passport. Zimbabwe’s state-owned newspaper reported last weekend that she was in South Africa for medical care, but she told police after the alleged assault that she was scheduled to attend the summit with her husband.
Lawyers for the 20-yearold model, Gabriella Engels, have threatened to go to court if South Africa’s government grants Mugabe immunity, saying it cannot be used to “escape prosecution from grave crimes”.
In an interview yesterday Ms Engels gave her version of events, claiming that Mrs Mugabe cornered her in a Johannesburg hotel room last Sunday night and “started beating the hell out of me”. She went on: “I had to roll myself down to get away from her, that’s when she hit me with the plug and the extension cord. And I just remember being curled down on the floor with blood rushing down my face and down my neck.”
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