Thapelo Lekabe

By Thapelo Lekabe

Senior Digital Journalist


Confusion abounds over Grace Mugabe’s whereabouts

According to eNCA, the Zimbabwean first lady landed in Harare late on Tuesday afternoon at Charles Prince Airport.


There have been contradicting reports over the whereabouts of Zimbabwe’s first lady, Grace Mugabe, who has been accused of assaulting a 20-year-old Johannesburg model and two other women at a Sandton hotel earlier this week with an extension cord.

EWN reported on Wednesday morning that it had been reliably informed Mugabe was still in South Africa, but her exact whereabouts were still unknown.

eNCA, however, reported Mugabe landed in Harare late on Tuesday afternoon at the privately owned Charles Prince Airport.

“The first lady landed yesterday [Tuesday] around four or five. We understand she landed through a private airport called Charles Prince Airport here in Harare,” eNCA Zimbabwean correspondent, Pindai Dube, said.

Mugabe allegedly assaulted Gabriella Engels and the two other women at The Capital 20 West Hotel in Sandton on Sunday night.

She was apparently looking for her sons, Robert Junior, 25, and Chatunga Bellarmine, 21, at the hotel where they were staying.

Engels alleges Mugabe burst into a room where they were sitting and started hitting them as her bodyguards looked on.

On Monday, Engels opened a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm at Sandton Police Station after she suffered gashes to her forehead and scalp. The other women decided not to lay any charges against the Zimbabwean first lady.

Police Minister Fikile Mbalula on Tuesday said Mugabe had handed herself over to the police and would appear in court. However, reports later emerged that she was nowhere to be seen and failed to appear in court on an assault charge.

Meanwhile, as more claims of assault against Mugabe continue to hog the headlines, EWN senior reporter Mandy Wiener has claimed on Twitter the first lady once told her she would beat her up when she attempted to interview her outside the Garden City Hospital in Johannesburg.

It is unclear, though, when this happened.

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