AfriForum: Engels family rejected cash offer to stop case against Grace Mugabe
The first lady is accused of assaulting 20-year-old Engels in a Sandton hotel on Sunday.
JOHANNESBURG - Lobby group AfriForum says the family of alleged assault victim Gabriella Engels has been offered a blank check as an out of court settlement by representatives of Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe.
This while the Zimbabwean government has made representation to the International Relations Department for diplomatic immunity in the case against Mugabe.
The first lady is accused of assaulting 20-year-old Engels in a Sandton hotel on Sunday.
AfriForum's Kallie Kriel says that the Engels family has rejected an offer by the Mugabe family to make the first lady's case disappear.
Advocate Gerrie Nel says if it comes to it, they will be pressing the courts for a prosecution and not a settlement.
AfriForum has indicated that it is willing to represent Engels in a private prosecution of the state fails.
#GraceMugabe AfriForum says the family was told to come up with their own settlement amount. But rejected the offer. HM pic.twitter.com/HXYhkyVIjP
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 17, 2017
#GraceMugabe Adv Nel - "we're monitoring this situation and if we feel that it's not going accordingly - we will intervene". HM
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) August 17, 2017
AfriForum is giving the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) three months to prosecute Grace Mugabe for assault, saying that if this doesn’t happen it will take action itself.
Gabriella's mother Debbie Engels says she is now confident that they will get justice.
