Mugabe arrives in S. Africa amid wife’s assault scandal

JOHANNESBURG: Veteran Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe has arrived in South Africa, state media said, for a regional summit overshadowed by accusations that his wife assaulted a 20-year-old model in a Johannesburg hotel room with an electric cable.

Zimbabwe’s Herald newspaper, the government’s main mouthpiece, said 93-year-old Mugabe arrived at a military airbase near Pretoria late yesterday.

The Herald made no mention of the controversy swirling around his 52-year-old wife Grace, who has applied for diplomatic immunity to protect herself from possible assault charges, according to South African police.

Debbie Engels, the mother of the alleged victim, Gabriella, said her daughter received 14 stitches on her head from Sunday’s assault – which the mother did not witness – and demanded Mugabe face justice.

She showed Reuters photographs taken in the hours after the incident showing gashes on Gabriella’s forehead and the back of her head.

Another picture, taken on Wednesday, showed a large, livid bruise on her thigh.

“I just want justice for my daughter. It’s not about money. It’s about justice. She attacked my child for no reason,” Engels said.

Reuters has not been able to verify key aspects of the assault allegations independently. — Reuters