South African court orders deportation of Mugabe’s son over shooting incident

A South African court has ordered the deportation of Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe, after he was implicated in the shooting of a gardener following a dispute at his family’s home in Johannesburg.

The 28-year-old Mugabe, who has been in custody since February, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including being in South Africa illegally and pointing a toy gun during a separate incident.

He was charged alongside his cousin, 32-year-old Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other charges related to the shooting.

The Alexandra Magistrates’ Court, in a ruling on Wednesday, fined Mugabe 600,000 rand ($36,000) on two counts, or 24 months’ imprisonment in default. Magistrate Reiner Boshoff also ordered his immediate deportation after serving his sentence, with authorities instructed to escort him to Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.

“Mr. Mugabe, you can count yourself very lucky that the complainant in your case was not injured,” Magistrate Boshoff remarked, questioning whether Matonhodze had “taken the rap” for his cousin in the shooting incident.

Matonhodze, who was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of up to three years, was described as receiving a “merciful” ruling, in part due to mitigating factors, including the fact that the gardener involved had already been compensated. Investigators revealed that the gardener had been paid 250,000 rand ($15,000) in cash, with an additional 150,000 rand ($9,000) promised.

The firearm used in the shooting has not been recovered.

Bellarmine Mugabe, one of Robert Mugabe’s two sons with his second wife Grace, has been known for his extravagant lifestyle in Johannesburg, where he and his brother have frequently been associated with partying and a lavish way of living.

Robert Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe for nearly 40 years, was ousted in a 2017 coup and passed away in 2019 at the age of 95.