The lawyer who prosecuted
Oscar Pistorius says the alleged victim was offered money by a third party to
settle the case.
Police have put out a red
alert to stop Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe, who is accused of assault,
from leaving South Africa.
She is alleged to have
assaulted a 20-year-old model who was in a hotel room with her two sons in
Johannesburg.
Mrs Mugabe, 52, has
requested diplomatic immunity over the alleged incident.
The country's police
minister said she is still in South Africa but that all border posts had been
told to stop her leaving.
"The SAPS (South
Africa Police Service) have already put tabs in the borders in relation to her
leaving the country... The red alert has been put," said Fikile Mbalula.
Model Gabriella Engels
claims she was beaten with an extension cord and posted a picture on Twitter
showing a gash on her forehead.
She said the first lady's
bodyguards had stood by watching.
Her lawyers claim she has
received an offer of money to make the case "go away".
Ms Engels appeared at a
press conference on Thursday with several large white dressings on her head and
a large photo of her injury and Mrs Mugabe in the background.
Gerrie Nel - the prosecutor
seen by millions around the world in the Oscar Pistorius case - spoke to the
media.
He said Ms Engels was
suffering "secondary trauma" from all the attention.
"The family's even
been approached by a third party to accept an amount of money to settle
this," Mr Nel claimed.
He said no amount had been
mentioned - "just an offer - 'let us talk and this can go away.'"
The lawyer said it was important that everyone is "equal before
The lawyer said it was
important that everyone is "equal before the law" and that if the
state did not take action they would consider taking the matter to court
privately.
"From our point of
view," said Mr Nel, "we would expect at least a trial or action
withing three months."
He said Ms Engels had been
phoned on Thursday morning by the investigating officer, who told her police
will now apply for a warrant for Mrs Mugabe's arrest.
Ms Engels' representatives
also said they had sent a letter to the government over a convention that
diplomatic immunity "cannot be used to escape prosecution from grave
crimes".
The alleged victim, who sat
alongside her mother, did not speak to reporters.
Her representatives said it
was in case she had to testify in a trial.
They said there had been no
threat made to Ms Engels - but that "she is living in fear of going out in
public now, the family's living in fear for what might happen".
Robert Mugabe, 94, and his
entourage flew into a South African air force base late on Wednesday -
apparently arriving early for a regional summit of African leaders.
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