Grace Mugabe Beat Up Her Son's Model Girlfriend With an Extension Cord and Could Face Charges

Dating a Mugabe scion is a lot of fun until his mom lobs an extension cord at your face.

Grace Mugabe, Zimbabwe's first lady and the head of ZANU PF's women's wing, has been accused of assault by a 20 year old South African model stemming from an altercation at the home of Mugabe's two adult sons in the posh Sandton neighborhood of Johannesburg.

The alleged victim, Gabriella Engels, told South Africa's News24, "When Grace entered I had no idea who she was. She walked in with an extension cord and just started beating me with it."

Engels claims she was there visiting the brothers who she'd met through a mutual friend. The Mugabe brothers are well known for their playboy lifestyle—a penchant for partying that was rumored to have caused their move from Dubai to South Africa and, more recently, eviction from their Johannesburg apartment.

Grace Mugabe has been in the news, recently, due to speculation over who would succeed her husband, the 93 year old Zimbabwean strongman and independence hero, Robert Mugabe. Many believe she is angling for the job herself. But can Grace Mugabe be the next president of Zimbabwe if she's locked-up in a South African jail?

According to South Africa's Department of International Relations spokesperson Clayson Monyela, Mugabe is not eligible for diplomatic immunity in this case because she was in South Africa for medical treatment and not official business.

Engel has told South African media that she plans to press charges.

"She flipped and just kept beating me with the plug." Engel told News24, "Over and over. I had no idea what was going on. I was surprised… I needed to crawl out of the room before I could run away."

More than a few people in Zimbabwe want to see Grace Mugabe brought to justice. Zimbabwean Communist Party secretary general Nqabutho Mabhena told the Mail & Guardian on Monday, “We want the SA police to arrest Grace Mugabe. You cannot beat up a young lady for going out with your son,”

Like many things in the online era, much of the story has taken place in the social media sphere with Engels defending herself on Twitter and many others weighing in on the relative merits of the case.

Including an account claiming to be the victim's mother:

And a long-running Zanu PF parody account that is often confused for the real thing: