South African model, Gabriella Engels, has described to local media how Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe allegedly assaulted her at a hotel on Sunday.


In a phone interview for South Africa's News24 news site, she said:

"When Grace entered I had no idea who she was. She walked in with an extension cord and just started beating me with it.

"She flipped and just kept beating me with the plug. 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.

"Her 10 bodyguards just stood there watching, no-one did anything, no-one tried to help me.

"There was blood everywhere. Over my arms, in my hair, everywhere."