The youngest son of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been taken into custody following a shooting incident involving a gardener at his residence in South Africa, according to police and a family attorney.
Lawyer Ashley Mugiya informed The Associated Press that Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe was among two individuals detained and questioned on Thursday. South African police later confirmed that both men were arrested and will face attempted murder charges.
Authorities reported that an employee at the property suffered a single gunshot wound and is in critical condition, although the total number of shots fired remains unclear.
Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi stated, “The motive for the shooting is currently unknown, and police investigations are ongoing.” The names of the arrested individuals have not been disclosed, as South African police typically refrain from identifying suspects until they have appeared in court and been formally charged.
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The South African national broadcaster SABC reported that the incident took place at the younger Mugabe’s home in an affluent suburb of Johannesburg. Local media outlet IOL News published images showing Mugabe, 29, in handcuffs and being escorted by police.
Nevhuhulwi noted that both suspects were uncooperative when law enforcement first arrived at the scene. “They have not informed us of the gun’s location,” he said. “We cannot definitively identify who fired the shot.” Mugiya, a Zimbabwean lawyer, stated that legal representation for Mugabe would be arranged in South Africa.
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe is the youngest son of the late Zimbabwean leader, who passed away in Singapore in 2019, and his second wife, Grace Mugabe.
The former president was removed from power in a military coup in 2017 after 37 years in office. Robert Jr. and Bellarmine, the two sons of Robert and Grace Mugabe, occasionally reside in Johannesburg.
The Mugabe family has faced various legal issues over the years. Last year, Bellarmine’s older brother, Robert Mugabe Jr., was fined $300 after admitting to marijuana possession in Zimbabwe. In 2017, Grace Mugabe was accused of assaulting a model with an electrical cord in front of her sons at a luxury hotel in Johannesburg.
At that time, she was Zimbabwe’s first lady and was initially ordered to appear in court but was later granted diplomatic immunity.
