Harare, Zimbabwe (News of the South)-The wife of Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, was whisked out of South Africa on Sunday, trailed by calls for her arrest after she was accused of beating a fashion model with an extension cord in a luxury hotel in Johannesburg.
The bloody encounter between the president’s wife, Grace Mugabe, 52, who had sought diplomatic immunity afterward, and the model, Gabriella Engels, 20, who had filed assault charges, sparked outrage in South Africa and Zimbabwe and threatened to escalate into a diplomatic incident.
The South African authorities confirmed on Sunday that Mrs. Mugabe had been granted immunity. Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said in a statement that she had been “acting in the interests of South Africa” in recognizing “the immunities and privileges” of Mrs. Mugabe.
The handling of the case drew intense criticism — it was at least the second time that Mrs. Mugabe has had a brush with the law in which she sought protection. In 2009, she was granted diplomatic immunity by Hong Kong after being accused of attacking a British photographer who took pictures of her shopping. (Mrs. Mugabe’s lavish shopping expeditions have been the subject of derision and denunciations at home.)
This time, she escaped arrest after Ms. Engels said Mrs. Mugabe had burst into the hotel room on Aug. 13 while she was visiting Robert Mugabe Jr., 25, and Chatunga Mugabe, 21, and began beating her with the extension cord as 10 bodyguards watched.
“There was blood everywhere,” Ms. Engels told a South African broadcaster. “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.”
Why she was beaten was not entirely clear, but Ms. Engels later filed charges and posted photos on social media showing a deep gash in her forehead, a bloodied scalp and bruises on her body.
Although South Africa is known for its robust judicial system and strong constitutional norms, its government has recently been taken to task for not enforcing international law. Last month, the International Criminal Court rebuked the government for failing to arrest Sudan’s president, who is wanted on war crimes and genocide charges, when he visited in 2015.
The decision to grant Mrs. Mugabe diplomatic immunity “continues a worrying trend by the South African government to prioritize protecting regional allies from prosecution over enforcing international and domestic criminal law,” said Hannah Woolaver, a senior lecturer in public international law at the University of Cape Town.
“As a private citizen who does not represent Zimbabwe internationally, unlike the head of state or head of government, she does not qualify for immunity under international law or under the relevant South African domestic law,” she said.
The first lady and President Mugabe, 93, had been in Pretoria, South Africa, for a summit meeting of southern African leaders when the scandal erupted. They left early Sunday, before the end of the summit meeting. Mrs. Mugabe was later seen greeting government and military officials at the airport in Harare, the state broadcaster ZBC reported.
Mr. Mugabe had said his wife visited South Africa, where her son lives, to get medical treatment for a leg injury. If that was the case, said Dr. Woolaver, she should not have been granted immunity.-New York Times
About Author
