20 August 2017•Update: 21 August 2017
By Hassan Isilow
JOHANNESBURG
Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe returned home from South Africa on Sunday amid calls for her trial over charges of assaulting a 20-year-old woman in a Johannesburg hotel.
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, a state-run broadcaster, reported Sunday that President Robert Mugabe, accompanied by his wife Grace, returned from South Africa, where he attended a summit.
20-year-old South African model Gabriella Engels had accused the first lady, 52, of assaulting her last Sunday with an electrical cord that left her with injuries on her forehead and the back of her head.
Engels said the assault took place when she and a friend were at an upscale hotel in Johannesburg’s Sandton district to visit Grace’s adult sons, Robert and Chatunga.
She claimed Grace had accused her of living with her sons at the hotel.
Mugabe has two sons, who are residing in South Africa.
Reports of the assault angered many South Africans, who called on their government to prosecute the Zimbabwean first lady.
South African Police Minister Fikile Mbalula told reporters a day after the incident that Mugabe had turned herself in to police and would appear in court. But she failed to appear before the Randburg Magistrates Court.
South African police said Wednesday the Zimbabwean government had sought diplomatic immunity for the first lady.
The spokesman for South Africa’s Foreign Affairs Ministry declined Anadolu Agency's request to comment on the issue.
