- Title: Zimbabwe's Mugabe in South Africa after wife is accused of assault
- Date: 17th August 2017
- Summary: HARARE, ZIMBABWE (AUGUST 16, 2017) (REUTERS) PEOPLE IN STREET NEWSPAPER HEADLINES IN HARARE NEWSPAPER HEADLINE, DAILY NEWS, READING (English): "Grace escapes arrest in Joburg" ANALYST LOOKING ON COMPUTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROBERT GUTU, MDC (MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE SPOKESPERSON, SAYING: "We know that we have got millions of our own people who are living in the diaspora in South Africa, people who have run away from decades of misrule by the Zanu PF regime fronted by her husband, Robert Mugabe. We actually are fearful that there could be recriminatory attacks on our fellow Zimbabwean citizens who live in the South African diaspora because of the conduct of the First Lady." VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPER HEADLINES ON STREET IN HARARE (SOUNDBITE) (Shona) MAUD CHINYERERE, HARARE RESIDENT, SAYING: "If she can't discipline her children in private and then makes it a public affair it shows that she has lost control and clearly is not fit for office. She has disgraced us all." (SOUNDBITE) (English) JESS CHAITEZVI, HARARE RESIDENT, SAYING: "This is a clear indication that Mbaleka's statements were real that Zimbabweans are coming to South Africa, commit crimes and run away and for a person of a first lady, somebody who is very respectable like Grace Mugabe, reducing herself and fighting a 20 year-old is a disgrace to the people of Zimbabwe."
- Embargoed: 31st August 2017 10:48
- Keywords: Zimbabwe President Mugabe South Africa Mugabe wife assault on model newspaper headlines
- Location: PRETORIA AND JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA / HARARE, ZIMBABWE
- City: PRETORIA AND JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA / HARARE, ZIMBABWE
- Country: South Africa
- Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0026UJLS1Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Veteran Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe has arrived in South Africa, state media said on Thursday (August 17), for a regional summit overshadowed by accusations his wife assaulted a 20-year-old model in a Johannesburg hotel room with an electric cable.
Zimbabwe's Herald newspaper, the government's main mouthpiece, said 93-year-old Mugabe arrived at a military air base near Pretoria late on Wednesday.
The Herald made no mention of the controversy swirling around his 52-year-old wife Grace, who has applied for diplomatic immunity to protect herself from possible assault charges, according to South African police.
Debbie Engels, the mother of the alleged victim, Gabriella, told Reuters her daughter had received 14 stitches on her head from Sunday's assault - which the mother did not witness - and demanded Mugabe face justice.
She showed Reuters photographs taken in the hours after the incident showing gashes on Gabriella's forehead and the back of her head. Another picture, taken on Wednesday, showed a large, livid bruise on her thigh. Reuters has not been able to verify key aspects of the assault allegations independently.
There has been no official comment from Harare and requests for comment from Mugabe's spokesman and from Information Minister Chris Mushowe have gone unanswered. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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