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The Smoking Man
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« on: January 25, 2009, 07:29:45 PM » |
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Mugabe's daughter studying at Hong Kong University: report
Sun Jan 25, 1:04 am ET
HONG KONG (AFP) – The daughter of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is studying at a university in Hong Kong under an assumed name, a newspaper said Sunday.
Bona Mugabe, whose father and fellow leaders are banned from visiting the United States, the European Union and Australia, began studying at the University of Hong Kong last year, a senior university source told the Sunday Morning Post.
Her presence in the southern Chinese city was revealed after her 43-year-old mother, Grace Mugabe, allegedly assaulted a British photographer who tried to take photos of her outside a five-star Hong Kong hotel earlier this month.
A spokeswoman for the university said the presence of Bona Mugabe on campus had not given rise to any negative reaction from other students.
"We believe that education should be above politics and young people should not be denied the rights to education because of their family background or what their parents have done," the spokeswoman told the Post.
Australia last year deported eight Zimbabwean students whose parents are linked to President Mugabe's government, saying it wanted to prevent those involved in human rights abuses from giving their children education denied to ordinary Zimbabweans.
Mugabe's regime has been internationally condemned for its disregard of human rights and its politically motivated violence targeting opposition and civil activists. Nearly half the population of Zimbabwe is dependent on food aid while a cholera epidemic has claimed more than 2,700 lives.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong police said they were still investigating the alleged assault on photographer Richard Jones by Zimbabwe's first lady on January 15.
"No one has been arrested yet," a spokesman told AFP.
Jones said he had been repeatedly beaten and punched by Grace Mugabe while her bodyguard held him outside the Kowloon Shangri-la Hotel. He said he had sustained numerous bruises, cuts, and abrasions to his head and face because Grace Mugabe was wearing diamond rings when she attacked him.
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