First Lady Grce Mugabe yesterday escaped arrest in Johannesburg, South Africa where she was slapped with charges for severely assaulting a 20 year old woman she had found with her sons at an upmarket hotel in Sandton, on Sunday.
The First Lady was expected to appear at Wynburg Magistrates' Courts in the afternoon, but had not done so by the time of going to print last night amid speculative reports that she had flown back to Zimbabwe in a private plane. Authorities in Zimbabwe and South Africa were yesterday scrambling for answers after Grace's victim. By late yesterday there was confusion over Grace's whereabouts.Unconfirmed reports claimed Grace had landed in Harare after sneaking out of South Africa late yesterday.
It was not immediately clear why Mrs Mugabe did not report to police after saying she would do.
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| Grace Mugabe Escapes Arrest In Joburg |
South African Police spokesperson, Vishnu Naidoo said: "We have identified a possible suspect who in terms of our law we cannot name, but she hasn't handed herself over yet. We do not know her whereabouts at this stage."
Mrs Mugabe has so far not commented.
Zimbabwean government sources confirmed that Mrs Mugabe, wife of President Robert Mugabe, had returned home.
"Yes, she is back in the country. We don't know where this issue of assault charges is coming from," said one senior official quoted by Reuters.
Earlier, South African police said they had been negotiating with Mrs Mugabe's lawyers to get her to hand herself in.
Confusion surrounded the case with officials saying at one point that Mrs Mugabe had handed herself over to police and would appear in court. She did not appear and police sources later said she had agreed to turn herself in but failed to do so.
Gabriella Engels, a model, accused Mrs Mugabe, 52, of hitting her after finding her with her two sons in a hotel room in Sandton, a wealthy suburb north of Johannesburg.
Ms Engels released an image of a head injury online.
"When Grace entered I had no idea who she was," she told South African broadcaster News24.
"She walked in with an extension cord and just started beating me with it. 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.
"There was blood everywhere," she added. "Over my arms, in my hair, everywhere."
She registered a "case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm", police said.
Source - Online
