Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's First Lady,
Grace Mugabe, has denied assaulting South African model
Gabriella Engels with an electric cable in a Johannesburg hotel
suite last month, saying an "intoxicated and unhinged" Engels
attacked her with a knife.
In a previously unreported August 17 deposition seen by
Reuters, Mugabe countered 20-year-old Engels' version,
portraying herself as the victim after intervening on behalf of
her adult sons Chatunga and Robert Junior who were "in trouble
with a drunken young woman".
The statement said Grace Mugabe, 52 and a contender to
replace her 93-year-old husband as Zimbabwe's president, was
thinking about filing attempted murder charges.
Read:
According to Engels, an irate Mugabe burst into the room
where she was waiting with two friends to meet Chatunga Mugabe
on Aug. 13 and started laying into her with an electric cable.
Photographs taken by her mother soon after the incident
showed a gash to Engels' forehead and head. She also had
bruising on her thighs.
In her deposition, Mugabe dismissed Engels' version as
"malicious allegations" and said she had been attacked after
going to help her sons.
"She was worried about them and went to see them at their
hotel suite," the statement said. "Upon her arrival, Ms Engels,
who was intoxicated and unhinged, attacked Dr. Grace Mugabe with
a knife after she was asked to leave the hotel."
"Security was left with no other option but to remove Ms
Engels from the hotel suite," it continued.
Gabriella Engels touches her head during a media conference in Pretoria. The model who accuses Zimbabwe's first lady of assault, has been offered legal assistance by prominent lawyer Gerrie Nel, who secured the murder conviction of Oscar Pistorius. Picture: Themba Hadebe/AP
Also read:
The statement also alleged that Engels had been in a fight
with other women at Johannesburg's Taboo nightclub the previous
evening and suggested that may have been the cause of her
injuries.
Afriforum, the civil society group acting on behalf
of Engels, denied both accusations.
"Gabriella never attacked Grace Mugabe in any way and she
did not participate in the fight at Taboo," Afriforum said.
"It is clear that Grace Mugabe is desperately trying to
escape responsibility for her own violent behaviour by using
lies to falsely portray the victim in this case as the
perpetrator."
Now read:
South Africa granted Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity,
allowing her to evade immediate prosecution for assault,
although Engels and Afriforum have challenged that decision,
saying Mugabe was not in South Africa on official business.
They also argued that assault was a "grave crime" that was
not covered by diplomatic immunity laws.
The decision to let Grace Mugabe return home caused a row in
South Africa, with the opposition Democratic Alliance also going
to court to overturn the immunity.