Zimbabwe First Lady accused of assaulting women in South Africa hotel room
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Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe allegedly whipped an electrical cord at three women found with her sons.
The two sons, 25-year-old Robert Jr. and 21-year-old Chatunga Bellarmine, were with the women at the Capital 20 West Hotel when their mother stormed in with around 10 bodyguards and hotel security, South Africa’s Sunday Times reports.
The brothers are known for their extravagant lifestyle and have been expelled from schools in Zimbabwe, Dubai and China.
Their father, President Robert Mugabe, has been in power since 1987.
The men reportedly ran away, leaving the women whom Mugabe attacked with an electrical cord and dragged by their hair.
The guards reportedly watched and did not stop her.
Gabriella Engels, a 20-year-old model said, “I really thought she was going to kill me… From the moment she stormed into the room she was ready to murder someone.”
She and her two friends met the brothers and their friends at a nightclub while celebrating Chatunga Bellarmine’s 21st birthday.
After a quarrel broke out involving the brothers’ group of friends, the women withdrew but accidentally left a jacket.
The following day, they were told to retrieve the jacket at the hotel room.
Engels’ friend said they didn’t interact with the Mugabe brothers. “We were literally there for 15 minutes. The only thing we managed to do was smoke a cigarette on the balcony,” she shared.
“Then our friend asked us to turn off the music. Someone important was coming.This lady stormed into the room with more than 10 bodyguards and hotel security guards, demanding to know the whereabouts of her son, who she calls Bellarmine.”
The women were allegedly assaulted for around 20 minutes when they couldn’t tell her sons’ whereabouts.
“I was rescued by the hotel manager, who rushed to the room after hearing my screams for help,” said Engels.
While Engels’ friends remain anonymous out of fear of Mugabe, her family has supported her and claimed that Mugabe has offered money to silence them.
The First Lady was granted diplomatic immunity following the assault in order to maintain good relations between the two countries.
The women are under the protection of lobby group AfriForum, which is challenging the diplomatic immunity.
“Their action now proves that they are partners in crime in this regard. It’s unacceptable and for that reason, we will take it further,” said AfriForum lawyer Willie Spies in an Eyewitness News report. Niña V. Guno /ra
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