Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe 'buys £4m property in exclusive Johannesburg suburb'

The Zimbabwean president's wife, Grace Mugabe, has reportedly bought a multi-million pound house in Johannesburg amid an increasingly heated struggle over question marks over the successor to Robert Mugabe.

The mansion is in one of the country's most affluent neighbourhoods, according to the Telegraph, boasting four bedrooms, six reception rooms and a koi pond. The report added that it was not sure how Mrs Mugabe had paid for the property while the county's foreign currency reserves are so low.

Documents obtained by the newspaper say that at 9249 sq m, the house is nearly double the size of most other properties in the exclusive suburb. It is registered in a so-called "shelf" company.

It added that Mrs Mugabe is also looking at another property close by worth about £5m.

The 93-year-old president kicked off another campaign in June as he starts his road toward toward yet another five-year term as the country's president.

In July, the Vice President announced that the country would begin stockpiling gold and diamonds to back a new currency in an attempt to help the country's ruined economy.

Grace Mugabe is a key figure in Zimbabwe's political scene as the country's ruling Zanu PF party is divided about the "succession issue."

This is not the only unfavourable headline moment for Zimbabwe's first lady of late. Grace Mugabe was accused on Monday of attacking a model in a Johannesburg hotel room and leaving her with a sizeable gash on her forehead.

"She split my head open in three places with an extension cord and used the plug to hit me," 20-year-old Gabriella Engels said. The incident is said to have taken place after Engels met at a party, Mugabe's two sons Robert Jnr, 25, and Bellarmine Chatunga, 21.

Police have said that Grace Mugabe had sought diplomatic immunity over the case after she failed to turn herself in as had been expected.