Johannesburg – Robert Mugabe’s son, Chatunga Bellarmine Mugabe, and his co-accused, Thobias Mugabe Matonhodze, have been charged with attempted murder, defeating the course of justice by hiding the gun used in the crime, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The attempted murder charge relates to the shooting of a gardener at the Mugabe residence in Johannesburg on Thursday. The gardener, who was severely injured, is in hospital receiving treatment for his wounds.
When South African police arrived at the scene, they could not find the gun, and it has not yet been recovered.
The case has been postponed to 3 March, where they can apply for bail. The State is opposed to bail. Chatunga is Robert Mugabe’s third and last born child with his second wife, Grace Mugabe.
Grace Mugabe cannot come to South Africa to support her son because of a warrant of arrest issued in 2017 after she allegedly assaulted South African model Gabriella Engels at a Johannesburg hotel.
The shooting, which happened at the Mugabe residence in Johannesburg’s upmarket, leafy suburb of Hyde Park, is the latest in a litany of cases involving Mugabe’s sons.
The Johannesburg house was bought for the Mugabe boys when their father was still in power in 2017 for R43 million, which was the equivalent of about US$3.2 million at the time.