JOHANNESBURG. — South Africa’s High
Court yesterday overturned a decision by the
government to grant Zimbabwe’s former
first lady Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity
after she was accused of whipping Gabriella
Engels with an electric cord.
Delivering his judgment on Monday, Judge
Bashier Vally stated that the decision by the
former Minister of International Relations
and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane,
to grant Mrs Mugabe diplomatic immunity
was inconsistent with the South African
constitution and should therefore be set
aside.
“It is declared that the decision of the
minister of August 19, 2017, in terms of the
diplomatic immunities to recognise Dr Grace
Mugabe immunities is inconsistent with the
Constitution of South Africa. The decision is
reviewed and set aside,” the judgment stated.
The former minster explained in court that
Mrs Mugabe automatically qualified for
immunity from prosecution by virtue of her
status as the wife of a head of state.
She also argued that not awarding Mrs
Mugabe diplomatic immunity might have
serious implications for relations between
South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Engels filed a court application challenging
the government’s decision last August.
Mrs Mugabe returned to Zimbabwe
immediately after South Africa granted her
diplomatic immunity, allowing her to evade
prosecution for assault and causing a row in
South Africa where the opposition
Democratic Alliance also challenged the
ruling.
Mrs Mugabe denied assaulting Engels with an
electric cable, saying an “intoxicated and
unhinged” Engels had attacked her with a
knife.
South African advocacy group Afriforum,
which represented Engels, dismissed the
allegations as lies.
According to Engels, an irate Mrs Mugabe
burst into the room where she was waiting
with two friends in a Johannesburg luxury
hotel suite to meet one of Mugabe’s sons last
August, and started attacking her with an
electric cable.
Photographs taken by Engels’ mother soon
after the incident showed gashes to the
model’s head and bruising on her thighs.
Willie Spies, a lawyer for Afriforum, said the
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) should
now take action to prosecute Mrs Mugabe
and seek her extradition from Zimbabwe to
South Africa.
Spies said if the NPA failed to take action,
Afriforum would start proceedings against
Mrs Mugabe.
“The ball is in their court now,” Spies said,
adding that Afriforum had argued that Grace
Mugabe committed the attack on Engles
while she was on a private visit to South
Africa and therefore did not qualify for
diplomatic immunity.
NPA spokeswoman Phindi Mjnonondwana
said the case was still in the hands of the
police and had not yet been sent to the NPA
for action.
However, NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku
said South Africa and Zimbabwe had
previously cooperated on extraditing
suspects from one country to the other.
Following the judgment, International
Relations and Cooperation Department under
Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said they were still
studying the judgment.
The news from the South African court came
as former president Mugabe (94),
accompanied by his wife and daughter Mrs
Bona Chikore, cast his vote at Mhofu Primary
School in Highfield township, the first
election that does not include his name on
the ballot paper since the country gained
independence from Britain in 1980. —
Reuters/HR/Xinhua.