Tensions sky-high over Mugabe assault case
Publish date: 18 August 2017
Issue Number: 4287
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Tenders
The stand-off between SA authorities and Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe continued yesterday with no end to the impasse in sight. This after model Gabriella Engels laid criminal charges after the 52-year-old allegedly assaulted her in a Sandton hotel on Sunday. Legalbrief reports that outspoken Police Minister Fikile Mbalula yesterday raised the stakes in this extraordinary stand-off by confirming that police have put out a ‘red alert’ at SA borders for Mugabe in case she attempted to leave the country. At the same time, President Robert Mugabe arrived in SA in an attempt to intervene. A BusinessLIVE report notes that Mbalula said police have avoided arresting his wife because of her status. ‘If it was somebody else … we could have long moved a raid on her in terms of the issues,’ he said.
Enter AfriForum Advocate Gerrie Nel who yesterday said the family of the victim was offered a settlement to drop the charges. Instead, he said, they opted for justice. Addressing a media briefing in Centurion, he said ‘the word settlement and criminal prosecution don't go hand in hand... as far as criminal procedure is concerned, you search for justice’. A report on the News24 site notes that he said he wanted justice to prevail in the matter and for everyone to be treated fairly before the law. AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said the victim was offered a blank cheque to make the matter go away. ‘There wasn’t an amount offered to them. The indication was: come up with a figure‚’ he said in a report on the TimesLIVE site.
It is impossible for Mugabe to invoke diplomatic immunity if a diplomatic passport was not gazetted in advance of her trip, an international law specialist has told News24. Immigration lawyer Craig Smith said diplomatic passports are issued within strict guidelines and usually only applies for the specific purpose of the official's visit. ‘Now that she's facing trumped up charges, Zimbabwean authorities are trying their level-best to find a way to get her off the hook,' he said.
Law firm Hurter Spies, acting on behalf of AfriForum and Engels, made representations to the Minister of International Relations and Co-operation arguing that the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act does not protect Grace Mugabe, Beeld reports. The lawyers say section 2(2) of the Act defines the alleged crime as a ‘serious’ one as it involves injury to a person. In terms of section 6 of the Act, not even a head of state can escape the jurisdiction of South African courts where injury of a person is involved, the representation says. Furthermore, the allegation that Grace Mugabe is attending the SADC conference together with her husband is ‘an afterthought which is intended to defeat the ends of the criminal justice process and abuses the principle of diplomatic immunity’.
The SA Government has received legal advice indicating that, despite travelling on a diplomatic passport, Grace Mugabe does not qualify for diplomatic immunity and may be arrested, the Mail & Guardian reports. The M&G says it has learned that frantic behind-the-scenes negotiations are under way between Zimbabwe and SA in an attempt to devise a plan that will help Mugabe to avoid arrest. Although Zimbabwe has claimed that Mugabe was in the country as part of a delegation attending the SA Development Community summit that starts on Saturday, well-placed government sources have confirmed she had entered the country to seek medical treatment for a leg injury. The M&G says it understands that advice from lawyers consulted by the SA Government indicates that the nature of Mugabe’s visit and the circumstances around the alleged assault disqualify the First Lady from diplomatic immunity.
