The High Court in Pretoria granted leave to Freedom Under Law (FUL), the Commission for Gender Equality and the Women’s Legal Centre Trust (WLC) to intervene in the Democratic Alliance (DA)’s application to set aside diplomatic immunity granted to Zimbabwe’s former First Lady Grace Mugabe to prevent her from being prosecuted for allegedly assaulting South African model Gabriella Engels on August 13.
The DA’s application will be heard next year with a separate application by Engels and AfriForum to set aside International Relations and Cooperation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane’s decision to recognise Grace Mugabe’s diplomatic immunity. Engels and AfriForum argue that granting Grace diplomatic immunity was invalid because it is not granted to heads of state who behave in a criminal manner or cause death or injury to South African citizens.
The DA said Nkoana-Mashabane’s decision constituted an irrational abuse of statutory power and should be set aside as unconstitutional. In court papers, Nkoana-Mashabane said Grace Mugabe, as the wife of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, had “spousal immunity” under international law and not granting her immunity would have had serious implications on Zimbabwe and South Africa’s diplomatic relations.
More: The Citizen
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