Johannesburg: Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe was under investigation by South African police on Tuesday after she allegedly used an extension cord to assault a model in a Johannesburg hotel.
The alleged attack threatened to spark a major diplomatic incident between the two countries, which have strong political and economic ties.
Grace Mugabe, 52, is accused of beating Gabriella Engels, 20, on Sunday evening at the hotel where Mugabe’s two sons were also staying, leaving the victim with injuries to her forehead and the back of her head.
“She hasn’t handed herself over yet. We do not know her whereabouts at this stage,” police national spokesman Vishnu Naidoo said.
Grace Mugabe allegedly arrived at the hotel with bodyguards and accused Engels of partying with her sons Robert and Chatunga, both in their 20s, who live in the South African city.
South African Police Minister Fikile Mbalula had earlier said that Mugabe had turned herself in to officers. “The minister learned later that it just didn’t materialise as it was supposed to,” Naidoo said.
“As long as we don’t have a suspect in custody, we cannot say when they will appear in court.”
Pictures on social media appeared to show Engels bleeding from her head after the alleged incident at the Capital 20 West Hotel, in the upmarket Johannesburg district of Sandton.
“We were chilling in a hotel room, and (the sons) were in the room next door. She came in and started hitting us,” Engels told the Times Live website.
“The front of my forehead is busted open. I’m a model and I make my money based on my looks.”
Police Minister Mbalula told reporters “in terms of foreign citizens, they must understand they have responsibilities, especially those who hold diplomatic passports. “I cannot just go to Zimbabwe and beat up people there and then the matter will disappear. We have had to act in the interests of the victim.” — AFP
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