Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe Fined and Deported Following Guilty Pleas
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, has been fined and ordered to leave South Africa after pleading guilty to immigration and firearms-related offences unrelated to a recent shooting incident at the Mugabe family home in Johannesburg.
Background of the Shooting Incident and Charges
Three months following an incident on 19 February where an employee was shot in the back at the Mugabe family residence in a wealthy Johannesburg suburb, Bellarmine Mugabe and his cousin Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze were initially charged with attempted murder.
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, aged 28, and Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, aged 33, faced separate legal proceedings related to the shooting and other offences.
Sentencing and Guilty Pleas
Earlier in April, Tobias Matonhodze pleaded guilty to attempted murder, firearms offences, defeating the ends of justice—since the gun used in the shooting was never recovered—and contravening immigration law. On 24 April, he was sentenced to three years in prison.
Bellarmine Mugabe pleaded guilty to two separate offences from 2023. He was fined 400,000 rand (£17,851) for pointing a toy gun in a manner likely to be mistaken for a real firearm. Additionally, he was fined 200,000 rand (£8,919.50) for violating immigration laws. Following the sentencing, Magistrate Renier Boshoff ordered police to escort Bellarmine Mugabe to Johannesburg’s international airport for deportation.
Magistrate Renier Boshoff told Mugabe: “I do not know whether the second accused took the rap for you, and I can only act on what is before me.”
Mitigating Factors and Victim’s Withdrawal of Charges
The magistrate noted that the sentences were mitigated by the defendants’ guilty pleas, the time already spent in custody since the February shooting, and the victim’s decision to withdraw charges after receiving payment from the accused.
The victim, 23-year-old Sipho Mahlungu, was reportedly paid 250,000 rand (£11,150) with an additional 150,000 rand (£6,690) promised, according to investigating officer Raj Ramchunder during the sentencing hearing.
Investigating officer Raj Ramchunder told the 24 April sentencing hearing that Mahlungu was paid 250,000 rand (£11,150), with a further 150,000 (£6,690) promised.
Prosecutors had initially requested lengthy prison sentences for both men.
Historical Context of the Mugabe Family
Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for nearly four decades, initially celebrated for ending white minority rule but later criticized for authoritarian governance, hyperinflation, and economic collapse. He was deposed in a 2017 coup and passed away two years later.
Bellarmine Mugabe and his older brother Robert Junior, aged 34, gained notoriety in the 2010s for their conduct online.
In 2017, their mother, Grace Mugabe, avoided a South African court case after the model Gabriella Engels accused her of assault, which allegedly caused bleeding.
In 2017, their mother, Grace Mugabe, avoided a court case in South Africa by . The model Gabriella Engels accused the former first lady of until she bled.
Additional Legal History and Considerations
The magistrate also considered that both Bellarmine Mugabe and Tobias Matonhodze were first-time offenders. However, Bellarmine has had previous legal issues in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwean media reported that in 2024, Bellarmine Mugabe was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer at a roadblock. In June 2023, he was also arrested for allegedly assaulting a security guard at a goldmine. The current status of these cases remains unclear.
