South Africa deports Mugabe's son after separate charges, three months after shooting at family home

Three months after an employee was shot in the back at the Mugabe family home in an affluent Johannesburg suburb, Robert Mugabe's youngest son was fined and ordered to leave South Africa after pleading guilty to two unrelated charges.

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, 28, and his cousin Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, 33, were initially both charged with attempted murder following the incident on February 19.

Earlier this month, Matonhodze pleaded guilty to attempted murder, weapons charges, obstruction of justice – because the gun was never found – and immigration violations. He was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday.

Mugabe was ordered to pay a fine of 400,000 rand (£17,851) for having only a toy gun in a manner that could be considered a real weapon, relating to a separate incident in 2023. He was also fined 200,000 rand (£8,919.50) for immigration violations. He pleaded guilty to both charges. The judge ordered police to take him to Johannesburg International Airport for deportation to Zimbabwe.

Judge Renier Boshoff told Mugabe: "I do not know whether the second accused is pleading guilty on your behalf, and I can only act on what is before me."

The judge said sentences were reduced because the two men had pleaded guilty to the offenses for which they were convicted, the time they had already spent in prison since the February 19 shooting, and because the victim, 23-year-old Sipho Mahlungu, wanted to withdraw charges after being compensated by Mugabe and Matonhodze. Prosecutors had sought lengthy prison terms for both.

Investigating officer Raj Ramchunder told the sentencing hearing on April 24 that Mahlungu had been paid 250,000 rand (£11,150), with an additional 150,000 rand (£6,690) promised.

Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for nearly 40 years, initially as a hero after ending white minority rule in Zimbabwe. His rule became authoritarian, and he oversaw hyperinflation and economic decline. He was ousted in a 2017 coup and died two years later at age 95.

Mugabe and his older brother Robert Junior, 34, became famous in the 2010s for sharing their lavish lifestyle online.

In 2017, their mother, Grace Mugabe, avoided a lawsuit in South Africa by claiming diplomatic immunity. Model Gabriella Engels accused the former first lady of beating her with an electrical cord until she bled.

The judge also said he considered the fact that Mugabe and his cousin were first-time offenders. Mugabe had previously run into trouble with authorities in Zimbabwe.

According to Zimbabwean media reports, in 2024, he was arrested for assaulting a police officer at a checkpoint. In June last year, he was arrested and released on bail for assaulting a security guard at a gold mine. The status of those two cases is unclear.