A look at Zimbabwe’s first lady, who is accused of assault

FILE -- In this July 29, 2017 file photo Zimbabwe's first lady, Grace Mugabe, greets supporters at a rally in Zimbabwe. South Africa's police minister says the wife of Zimbabwe's president, background image, has handed herself over to police after being accused of assaulting a young woman Sunday night. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File) FILE -- In this July 29, 2017 file photo Zimbabwe's first lady, Grace Mugabe, greets supporters at a rally in Zimbabwe. South Africa's police minister says the wife of Zimbabwe's president, background image, has handed herself over to police after being accused of assaulting a young woman Sunday night. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File)

By Associated Press August 20, 2017 3 min read

JOHANNESBURG (AP) – A South African model’s claims of assault have drawn attention to Zimbabwe’s increasingly outspoken first lady Grace Mugabe, who has been viewed as a possible successor to her 93-year-old husband. Grace Mugabe and President Robert Mugabe returned to Zimbabwe Sunday, despite calls by a South African legal group and protesters for the Zimbabwean first lady to be denied diplomatic immunity.

Here’s a look at the wife of the world’s oldest head of state, who has faced assault claims elsewhere in the past:

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WHAT HAPPENED?

Twenty-year-old model Gabriella Engels claims that the 52-year-old Grace Mugabe attacked her with an extension cord in a luxury hotel in a Johannesburg suburb a week ago, on August 13.