JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the 28-year-old son of Zimbabwe’s late former president Robert Mugabe, is set to appear in a Johannesburg court on Monday on charges of attempted murder.
Mugabe was arrested last Thursday after police were called to his Hyde Park home, where a 23-year-old man was shot and critically wounded.
A 33-year-old co-accused will appear alongside him at the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court.
Police have been unable to recover the firearm used in the shooting. However, Gauteng police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni confirmed that both Mugabe and the second suspect were tested for gunshot residue – microscopic metal particles expelled when a firearm is discharged that can remain on a shooter’s hands, face and clothing.
The injured man, who is reportedly in critical condition, previously worked as a gardener at the property but had been absent for several months.
“Apparently he did not come to work for some time and there was an altercation regarding that,” said Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi.
“It was indicated that he is in a critical condition, but we are hoping that he will be fine,” she added, confirming that the victim sustained a single gunshot wound.
Police also seized a vehicle at the property which they said had been illegally fitted with police sirens.
Mugabe’s arrest is the latest in a string of legal troubles. In August 2024, he was arrested for disorderly conduct at a police checkpoint along the Beitbridge-Harare highway. Officers reportedly found him in possession of a knife.
In June last year, he was arrested after allegedly leading a violent assault on illegal gold miners who had encroached onto his mother’s farm in Mazowe. Several people reportedly suffered broken limbs during the incident.
Chatunga and his brother, Robert Junior, who has also faced arrest in Zimbabwe on drug and assault charges, have drawn repeated public scrutiny, living lifestyles that contrast sharply with the austere image cultivated by their late father.
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