Former First Lady Grace Mugabe has been dragged to court on allegations that she assaulted a housekeeper who accepted a wedding gift from former president Robert Mugabe.
According to the privately-owned NewsDay newspaper, Mrs. Mugabe accused Shupikai Chiroodza of allegedly “milking” the former president by obtaining the gift behind her back.
The newspaper reports that Chiroodza claims that Mrs. Mugabe assaulted her with clenched fists and shoes and only stopped beating her up when a visitor arrived at the family’s Blue Roof Mansion in Harare.
Chiroodza, who filed the court case in Harare, claims that she was unfairly dismissed by the Public Service Commission in 2017 following her physical encounter with the former first lady.
She claimed the assault happened soon after she was summoned by PSC officials who then indicated that Mrs. Mugabe was waiting for her at the Blue Roof Mansion. Chiroodza claims that all hell broke loose when she arrived at the Blue Roof.
She is quoted by the newspaper as saying, “… She (Grace) seized me by the neck and pulled me inside the house and locked the door. She started beating me with clenched fists shouting, ‘unoda kuzviita ani pano? (who do you think you are here?) you are milking my husband behind my back’. I did not utter a word as I was terrified. She removed her shoes and continued assaulting me with it and blood started gushing out of my forehead, mouth and nose. The assault continued for about 20 minutes.”
Chiroodza further claims that Mrs. Mugabe threatened to kill her if she reported the matter to the police or anybody.
She was not available for comment as her aide was not responding to calls on her mobile phone.
Mrs. Mugabe also facing similar claims following reports that she assaulted South African, Gabrielle Engels, whom she found with her two sons at a hotel near Johannesburg in 2018.