South Africa is planning to grant diplomatic immunity to Zimbabwe first lady Grace Mugabe, allowing her to return to Harare and avoid prosecution for the alleged assault of a 20-year-old model, a government source said on Friday.
Grace Mugabe has not been arrested for the alleged assault, but that Pretoria expected the granting of diplomatic immunity to be challenged in court.
Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe has claimed diplomatic immunity after being accused of assaulting a 20-year-old model, South African police said on Wednesday, in an incident that could test cross-border relations.
Grace Mugabe is accused of attacking Gabriella Engels on Sunday evening at a Johannesburg hotel where the first lady's two sons were staying.
Engels has registered a police case alleging assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, saying she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head.
The suspect('s) lawyers and her government representatives made verbal representations... that the suspect wished to invoke diplomatic immunity cover," the police ministry said in a statement.
The police said that Grace Mugabe had been expected to report to a police station on Tuesday to give her version of the events and to obtain a warning statement, but that she failed to show up.
They added that she would attend at the weekend a summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Pretoria where her husband and other heads of state will be present.
Her official duties at the summit could bolster her claim to diplomatic immunity, after her trip to see her sons was widely described as private.
Foreign affairs spokesman Clayson Monyela said that her trip was a private visit, so government cannot get involved.
Her husband flew out of Harare for South Africa Wednesday evening for the summit, according to the Zimbabwean public broadcaster ZBC.
The summit of heads of state starts on Saturday.
We know where the suspect is, South Africa's police spokesman Vishnu Naidoo said on Wednesday.
We are still continuing with the investigations. No warrant of arrest has been issued, he added, after some reports suggested she had hurriedly returned to Harare late Tuesday.
The alleged attack threatens to spark a diplomatic tiff between the two neighbouring countries, which have strong political and economic ties.
Zimbabwean officials have made no comment on the case.
Grace Mugabe allegedly arrived at the Capital 20 West Hotel with bodyguards and accused Engels of partying with her sons Robert and Chatunga, who are both in their 20s and live in Johannesburg.
Pictures on social media appeared to show Engels bleeding from her head after the alleged assault at the hotel in the upmarket business district of Sandton.
Engels said she was attacked with an electrical extension cord.
She flipped and just kept beating me with the plug. Over and over. I had no idea what was going on. I was surprised I needed to crawl out of the room before I could run away, she said.
Grace Mugabe is 41 years younger than her 93-year-old husband, and the couple has two sons and a daughter.
She regularly speaks at rallies and is seen as a possible contender to take over from her increasingly frail husband, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.
The succession battle is expected to pit Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa against a group called "Generation 40" or "G40" because its members are generally younger, and which reportedly has Grace's backing.
While Grace Mugabe has in the past denied harbouring ambitions to take over from her husband, at other times she has said she would be prepared to serve in any political position.
She has taken on a larger public role in recent years, drumming up support for her husband and heading the women's league of the ruling ZANU-PF party.
In speeches this year the president has often slurred his words, mumbled and paused for lengthy periods.
His reign has been marked by brutal repression of dissent, mass emigration, accusations of vote-rigging and a sharp economic decline.
South African police were on Tuesday investigating an alleged assault by Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe on a model who was staying at a Johannesburg hotel with her two sons.
During the incident, which occurred on Sunday, Mrs Mugabe, 52, allegedly attacked Gabriella Engels, 20, with an extension cord, leaving her with wounds on her forehead and the back of her head.
We are dealing with the matter and will get the full report, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula said.
If she came here with her diplomatic passport, she'll have diplomatic immunity. This doesn't mean she cannot be arrested.
Pictures on social media appear to show Engels with a bleeding head injury after the alleged incident in Capital 20 West Hotel in the upmarket district of Sandton.
Mrs Mugabe allegedly arrived with bodyguards and accused Engels of living with her sons Robert and Chatunga, both in their 20s, who are based in the city.
We were chilling in a hotel room, and the sons were in the room next door. She came in and started hitting us, Engels was quoted as saying by the press.
The front of my forehead is busted open. I'm a model and I make my money based on my looks.
There was a criminal case opened in Sandton at Morningside (station) yesterday, but I can not release any name. Right now we have not arrested anybody, national police spokesman Vish Naidoo said.
Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, a provincial minister in Gauteng province, told Jacaranda FM that the case should be pursued through the courts.
We hope that it will send a strong message to all leaders who abuse their power and assault innocent people in our country, she said.
Grace Mugabe regularly speaks at rallies in Zimbabwe and is seen as one potential successor to take over from her increasingly frail husband.
The Zimbabwe government made no immediate comment.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s wife, Grace Mugabe, confessed that she is concerned about her sons’ wayward behaviour after they were evicted from a plush apartment in Johannesburg over wild parties.
According to a leading privately-owned Zimbabwean weekly paper, Robert Junior, 25, and Chatunga Bellarmine, 21, were caught in a vicious scuffle that involved a gun drama, forcing the landlord to kick them out last month.
If I am to say women stand up to talk about your children, very few women can be brave enough to talk about that without breaking down, she told relatives and friends at her sister’s birthday party on Sunday.
Nowadays there are spirits attacking our children. The spirit of drinking, drug abuse and doing other abnormal things way beyond their age.I am telling you because the behaviour of the children does not matter if they are the president’s children or not. All children are mischievous,Grace Mugabe said.
The paper had reported that the First Lady flew to South Africa earlier this month to address the sons’ issue.
The two moved to South Africa this year after Robert Junior was forced to leave Dubai, where he was studying, over allegations of substance abuse. Bellarmine, who had been living in Harare, joined his brother in Johannesburg.
I have seen parents wearing torn clothes because their kids are demanding top-end trending clothes. In schools and universities, children are competing on fashion and they do not pay heed to parental advice,Mrs Mugabe said.
President Mugabe, 93, often complains about his two sons’ lack of seriousness but is always full of praise for his only daughter, Bona.
Mrs Bona Chikore, 27, holds a master’s degree in banking and finance and sits in boards of several state-run firms. In 2014, her parents showered with her with money and expensive gifts during her lavish wedding to Simba Chikore, now the chief operating officer of Air Zimbabwe.
President Mugabe has three children with his 52-year-old wife whom he married in 1996 after the death of his first wife, Sally Hayfron.
South African Oscar Pistorius’ prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, has offered legal services to Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model who was alleged assaulted by Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe.
Mr Nel has said he is concerned over the possibility of political interference in the prosecution of the case.
The former State advocate left the National Prosecuting Authority in January to join a civil rights organisation AfriForum.
Mr Nel told journalists in Pretoria on Thursday that Ms Engels’ family had been approached by a third party to accept a cash settlement and drop the case. He, however, would not shed more light on the allegations.
AfriForum is willing to fight this matter to the highest court, he said.
Head of the Private Prosecuting Unit of the civil rights organisation AfriForum, Gerrie Nel looks on during a press conference concerning the alleged assault by Zimbabwe First Lady Grace Mugabe towards South African model Gabriella Engels on August 17, 2017.
Debbie Engels, the alleged victim’s mother, welcomed the assistance saying she was glad the family was not left alone.
At least now I can sleep a little bit more peaceful knowing that I have people in my corner that are going to help me fight for justice for my daughter. And I know these people are not going to back down. They’re going to fight for her all the way. I’m very, very grateful. Now I know that this woman is not going to get off scot-free, she said.
Ms Engels, a model, laid criminal charges against the 52-year-old wife of President Robert Mugabe on Monday after she allegedly hit her with an electrical cord in a Sandton hotel on Sunday. The model said she suffered deep cuts to her forehead and the back of her head.
At the press briefing in Pretoria, Ms Engels was seen with a bandage on her forehead, but did not speak about the incident.
Meanwhile, South African police have issued a red alert at the country's borders for Mrs Mugabe, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula has said.
Mr Mbalula had previous said that Zimbabwe’s first lady had been expected to appear in court on Tuesday if she reported to a police station, but she failed to show up.
Mrs Mugabe has since invoked diplomatic immunity to avoid prosecution.
However, immigration law experts say she can only be granted immunity if her visit to South Africa was gazetted by the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) in advance.
The Police ministry said she is expected to join her husband and other heads of state at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit underway in Pretoria. Her official duties at the summit could bolster her claim to diplomatic immunity.
Grace Mugabe had been in South Africa to attend to personal matters and see her two sons.
Mr Nel, nicknamed Pitbull, prosecuted former Olympic star Oscar Pistorius, who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013.
Good luck grace
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