South African borders on ‘red alert’ to stop Zimbabwe’s Grace Mugabe fleeing, after alleged attack on model

South African police have put a “red alert” on the country’s borders to prevent any attempted flight by Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe, who is accused of assaulting a model in a Johannesburg hotel with an electric cable.

Her 93-year-old husband, President Robert Mugabe, is also currently in South Africa for a regional summit, complicating the diplomatic dilemma confronting Pretoria, which already has a difficult relationship with its troubled northern neighbour.

South Africa is home to an estimated three million Zimbabweans who accuse Mugabe of trashing a promising African democracy but Pretoria has been powerless to prevent Zimbabwe’s economic and political decline over the last two decades.

Grace Mugabe, 52, has asked for diplomatic immunity in the case but has not been charged. Her whereabouts were not known on Thursday although police minister Fikile Mbalula said she remained in the country.

The alleged victim, 20-year-old Gabriella Engels, has accused Mugabe of barging into a hotel room on Sunday where Engels was waiting to meet one of Mugabe’s sons, and whipping her with an electric extension cable, opening a large gash in her head.