JOHANNESBURG (AP) – Zimbabwe’s first lady Grace Mugabe has requested diplomatic immunity over an allegation that she assaulted a young model in Johannesburg earlier this week, said South Africa’s police.
Mugabe is still in South Africa after a day of intense speculation over her whereabouts after a 20-year-old model accused the wife of Zimbabwe’s president of assault, said South African police in a statement issued Wednesday.
The police statement said the Zimbabwean government has asked for diplomatic immunity for a suspect involved in the assault. The police have declined to name Mugabe in the case as she has not yet appeared in court.
Mugabe’s immunity request is under consideration, a spokesman for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation told The Associated Press.
Gabriella Engels registered a case with police on Monday accusing Mugabe of allegedly assaulting her with an extension cord in a luxury hotel in an upscale Johannesburg suburb on Sunday night. Photos of Engels posted on social media show a bloody gash to her head that she says was a result of the encounter.
Mugabe failed to present herself to police on Tuesday, sending her lawyers and Zimbabwe government representatives to negotiate with police over the handling of the case instead.
“Discussions with the suspect’s lawyers and the Zimbabwean High Commission representatives are taking place to make sure that the suspect is processed through the legal system,” the police statement.