Categories: Stories

Mystery now surrounds the whereabouts of Zimbabwe First Lady

Mystery now surrounds the whereabouts of Zimbabwe Fist Lady Grace Mugabe.

South Africa’s Police Minister Fikile Mbalula was yesterday quoted as saying she had handed herself over to the South African police following allegations that she assaulted a 20-year old South African woman, Gabriella Engels, who had gone to see her two sons at a hotel in the exclusive Johannesburg suburb of Sandton.

According to the report, Grace Mugabe was supposed to appear in court yesterday afternoon.

She did not, however, pitch-up at the Randburg court where reporters had camped waiting for her.

Reports, including one from the international news agency Reuters, said Zimbabwe’s First Lady had returned to Zimbabwe but did not explain how she had escaped the South African police or immigration.

This morning the African Independent reported that Grace Mugabe was holed up in a Johannesburg Hotel and is likely to be rescued by her husband, President Robert Mugabe who is travelling to South Africa to attend a Southern African Development Community summit.

“She is still in South Africa. She had been told to wait until President Mugabe arrives in South Africa where he is scheduled to attend this week’s SADC summit. It really wouldn’t have made sense for her to flee to Zimbabwe yet President Mugabe is travelling to South Africa. The president (Mugabe) will attend to the matter as soon as he arrives in South Africa,” the African Independent quotes what it says is a reliable source close to the Mugabe family.

The Times of South Africa says  police spokesperson Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said this morning that Zimbabwe’s First Lady was apparently not arrested.

It quotes him as saying: "We will see as the morning and the day unfolds. We are focused on finalising the investigation".

(161 VIEWS)

This post was last modified on August 16, 2017 9:31 am

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

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