Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
I was defending myself, says Grace
ZIMBABWE’S First Lady Grace Mugabe claims she took an extension cord to 20-year-old Gabrielle Engels in an act of self-defence during which her two sons were not spared her beating either.
Mugabe has told South African officials that she was in fact the victim in the attack that happened last Sunday at a hotel in Sandton. This allegedly took place in the presence of numerous bodyguards.
This is according to highly-placed sources privy to the case.
“She is adamant on the issue of protecting herself because she feels she was attacked. She says she was attacked by the victim and that she also has her own injuries which she is not going to publish in the media,” said one source.
The assault has Zimbabwean and South African officials working behind the scenes to try defuse what has become an embarrassing international incident that has thrust the diplomatic relations between the two neighbours under scrutiny.
Engels claims Mugabe assaulted her after she found her with her sons, Robert Jr and Chatunga Bellarmine. But it appears that the pair, known for their high-rolling lifestyles, also faced their mother’s wrath that night.
“People are not talking about the fact she did the same to her kids. She beats her kids too,” the source said.
Engels received cuts and bruises and had to crawl out of the room to escape. She claimed Mugabe’s bodyguards just stood by and watched.
Since the attack, civil rights organisation AfriForum has decided to represent Engels and the “Bulldog” advocate Gerrie Nel has taken the case and is gunning to get the First Lady in the dock, despite the government’s fears of a diplomatic fallout.
When asked why Mugabe didn’t open a police case against Engels, the official said Mugabe didn’t see it that way.
The official explained how the incident had placed the SAPS in a precarious position.
“Yes, clearly it was a difficult situation, a predicament because it was a high-profile matter and all the things came colliding.
“It was a mad house, and we had to ensure we don’t break the international
law on how to treat important delegates. In cases like this, you want to collect all the information from all sides.”
Mugabe is apparently still holed-up in South Africa and is waiting for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) to issue her diplomatic immunity. Then she can leave.
If this happens it will be the second time Mugabe has used this legal loophole to escape prosecution. In 2009 she was given diplomatic immunity by the Chinese after she assaulted a journalist in Hong Kong.
Dirco spokesperson Nelson Kgwete said a decision had yet to be made.
Civil rights organisation AfriForum said they were waiting to see if Mugabe would be given diplomatic immunity. If she was, Willie Spies, the organisation’s legal representative, said they would launch a review application in the high court in Pretoria to have the decision set aside.
He said as Engels had opened a case of grievous bodily harm, this was a serious enough crime to warrant her not being given immunity.