Mugabe’s daughter studies under assumed name

THE daughter of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe is studying at a university in Hong Kong under an assumed name, a newspaper said yesterday.

Bona Mugabe, 20, whose father and fellow leaders are banned from visiting the US, the EU and Australia, began studying at the University of Hong Kong last year, a senior college source told the Sunday Morning Post.

This comes as the European Union seeks today to add more than 25 individuals and 36 companies to a list of banned allies of Mugabe because of their links to suspected human rights abuses, an EU official said.

The sanctions list will for the first time include companies registered in the 27-nation EU.

The presence of Mugabe’s daughter in the Chinese city was revealed after her 43-year-old mother, Grace Mugabe, allegedly assaulted British photographer Richard Jones on January 15 when he tried to take photos of her outside a five-star Hong Kong hotel.

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.”

Yesterday Hong Kong human rights monitor director Law Yuk-kai said: “If the money she is spending was siphoned off the ordinary people, there is a problem. Just like other members of the international community, Hong Kong should do its part in imposing sanctions.”

The Hong Kong government had no comment.