Former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s son faces attempted murder charges in South African court

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The son of Zimbabwe’s late former President Robert Mugabe appeared in a South African court on Monday with another man to face charges of attempted murder after a shooting at his home in Johannesburg last week.

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, 29, and his co-accused Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, 33, are also facing two additional charges of defeating the ends of justice and unlawful possession of a firearm.

These are related to the firearm believed to have been used during the shooting when an employee at the Mugabe home in the Johannesburg suburb of Hyde Park was shot on Thursday last week, leading to his hospitalization.

The two accused appeared in the Alexandra Magistrates Court and will appear again on 3 March to make a formal bail application.

According to the police, the firearm used during the shooting has not been found since the two men were arrested last Thursday.

Police identified the person who was shot as the gardener at the home and said there had been an “altercation,” though the motive was still unclear.

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe is the youngest son of Robert Mugabe and his second wife Grace Mugabe.

Robert Mugabe led Zimbabwe for 37 years before he was deposed in a coup in 2017. He died two years later in Singapore at the age of 95.