A court in Johannesburg ordered the deportation of Bellarmine Mugabe after he pleaded guilty to firearm related offences and illegally staying in South Africa…reports Asian Lite News
Bellarmine Mugabe, the youngest son of former Robert Mugabe, has been ordered to leave South Africa immediately after a court in Johannesburg found him guilty of pointing a firearm and illegally residing in the country.
The 28 year old was also fined 650,000 rand, equivalent to around 36,000 US dollars, following court proceedings linked to a shooting incident at his residence in the upscale Hyde Park suburb earlier this year.
According to a report by BBC, Mugabe’s cousin and co accused, Tobias Matonhodze, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, illegal immigration, possession of ammunition and defeating the ends of justice. He was sentenced to three years in prison.
The two men were arrested on February 19 after police responded to reports of a shooting at Mugabe’s home. A 23 year old employee working at the property was critically injured and rushed to hospital after being shot.
Prosecutors told the court that the violence followed an argument between the three men inside the residence. The victim was allegedly shot twice in the back outside the property while attempting to flee.
Authorities have yet to recover the firearm used in the shooting.
Bellarmine Mugabe initially faced an attempted murder charge, but prosecutors later dropped the accusation after Matonhodze admitted responsibility for the shooting, the report said.
The separate charge of pointing a firearm was linked to another unrelated incident, though Mugabe agreed to have both cases heard together. South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority had earlier confirmed the arrangement to the BBC.
While delivering the sentence, the judge reportedly said that the weapon involved in the separate firearm case was a toy gun, but added that it could easily have been mistaken for a real firearm.
The report noted that Bellarmine Mugabe has faced multiple legal troubles in recent years.
In 2024, he was arrested in Zimbabwe over allegations of assaulting a police officer in the border town of Beitbridge. Although he was granted bail, a warrant for his arrest was later issued after he allegedly failed to appear in court, Zimbabwe’s state run newspaper The Herald reported at the time.
In another case the following year, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a security guard at a mining site in Mazowe, north of the Zimbabwean capital Harare. That case remains ongoing.
Bellarmine Mugabe is one of two sons Robert Mugabe had with his second wife, Grace Mugabe.
Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years before being removed from power in a military backed coup in 2017. He died in 2019.Mugabe’s youngest son to be deported after court ruling
