JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Prosecutors have asked for direct imprisonment for Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the son of the late former president Robert Mugabe, as a South African court postponed sentencing to April 29.
The state is seeking 12 months’ direct imprisonment on a charge of pointing a firearm, and a further 12 months on a charge of being an illegal immigrant.
For his co-accused, Tobias Matonhodze, who pleaded guilty to a raft of more serious charges, prosecutors are seeking five years’ direct imprisonment for attempted murder, 12 years for possession of an illegal firearm, 12 years for defeating the ends of justice, a fine for possession of ammunition, and 12 months’ direct imprisonment for immigration violations.
Matonhodze’s exposure is substantially greater, with the firearm and defeating-the-ends-of-justice counts alone carrying a combined 24 years sought by the state.
Mugabe pleaded guilty to being in South Africa illegally and to pointing a firearm, the latter arising from a separate incident just two weeks before his security guard, Sipho Mahlangu, was shot at his Hyde Park home on February 19.
The investigating officer told the Alexandra Magistrates Court that Mahlangu has received R250,000 in compensation, with a further R150,000 still outstanding.
He pushed for a harsh sentence, arguing that neither accused had disclosed the whereabouts of the firearm used in the shooting, which has not been recovered.
“Both accused showed no remorse,” the officer told the court, saying the failure to produce the weapon amounted to continued non-cooperation.
The defence countered that other individuals were present at the Hyde Park property at the time and that the gun could have been removed by someone else.
It has asked for non-custodial sentences, pointing to the compensation paid to Mahlangu as evidence of accountability, though the prosecution noted the full agreed amount remains unpaid.
The matter was postponed to April 29 for sentencing.
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