The civil rights organization AfriForum’s private prosecution unit is demanding evidence from Vusi Madonsela, director general of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, that his department has taken the necessary steps to ensure that Grace Mugabe is extradited to South Africa. Mugabe is the former president of Zimbabwe and is being prosecuted on a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Mugabe allegedly assaulted and severely injured Gabriella Engels, a Johannesburg model, in August 2017 with an electric extension cord. AfriForum represents Engels in the case.
AfriForum’s private prosecution unit made this request in a letter to Madonsela on Tuesday. This comes after adv. Shamilla Batohi, National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDOV), informed the private prosecution unit last month that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had already submitted an application for the extradition of Mugabe to the department in July last year. The NPA also demanded that this application be communicated to the Zimbabwean authorities.
Andrew Leask, chief investigator of AfriForum’s private prosecution unit, says AfriForum now wants to know whether this application was formally sent to the Zimbabwean authorities and whether there was any response to it.
“This case has been lagging since 2017 and we will continue to put pressure on the government to make sure that Mugabe is ultimately accountable for her actions and that justice is done for English,” says Leask.
