NAIROBI — Grace Mugabe, the first lady of Zimbabwe who has long been rumored to take over for her husband as the country’s next president, it turns out may or may not have actually turned herself in to South African police on Tuesday after a model accused her of physical assault.

According to a statement by the South African Police Service, a 20-year-old woman filed a case of assault with intent to cause bodily harm. Officials have not specified when the alleged assault took place.

A local journalist tweeted Tuesday afternoon that South African Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula confirmed that Mugabe, 52, had turned herself in, and that no arrest had been made because she had cooperated with authorities.

“[She is] not under arrest because she cooperated, and [handed] herself over to the police. That is cooperation more than any necessity to go and arrest a person,” Mbalula said.



Conflicting stories from the South African Police Service and the Zimbabwean government brought into question the first lady's whereabouts in light of the charges.

South African authorities released a statement Wednesday saying that Mugabe did not show up for the previously agreed upon meeting at the police station, and that her attorneys and government representatives "wished to invoke diplomatic immunity cover" over the case.

The police maintained that Mugabe "remains in South Africa and has not departed the Republic," adding that she still had private matters to attend to in the country.

But anonymous Zimbabwean officials told Reuters that Mugabe had traveled back to her home country.

"Yes, she is back in the country. We don't know where this issue of assault charges is coming from," one official said.

Another confirmed that Mugabe "is around now."

Calls to the South African Police Service and the Zimbabwean government were not immediately returned.

Gabrielle Engels, the woman pressing charges against Mugabe, shared a photo of one of the injuries she suffered from the alleged assault and described what happened in a series of tweets.