South Africa grants Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity after assault allegation - government

Reuters
President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa has granted Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity after a 20-year-old model accused her of assault in an upmarket Johannesburg hotel room. "I hereby recognise the immunities and privileges of the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr Grace Mugabe," said International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane in a notice published in the Government Gazette on Sunday. A security source told Reuters on Friday that the wife of 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe had been granted diplomatic immunity. Grace Mugabe returned to Harare on Sunday, state media reported. (Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by Janet Lawrence)