A son of former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was detained in South Africa for questioning along with another man on Thursday over the shooting of a man at a house in Johannesburg, a lawyer for the Mugabe family said.
Lawyer Ashley Mugiya told The Associated Press that Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe was one of the two detained. He is the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s former leader, who died in 2019, and his second wife, Grace Mugabe.
South African national broadcaster SABC said the shooting occurred at the younger Mugabe's home in a plush Johannesburg suburb and that he was seen in handcuffs in the driveway after police arrived.
South African police said that an employee at the house had sustained a single gunshot wound and was in a critical condition, though it wasn’t clear how many shots in total were fired.
Police did not name the two men taken in for questioning but said they were investigating a case of attempted murder.
Police later identified the person who was shot as the gardener at the home and said there had been an “altercation,” though they said the motive was still unclear.
Police spokesperson Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi told reporters from the scene of the shooting that the two men taken in for questioning had been uncooperative when police arrived.
“They have not told us where the gun is,” Nevhuhulwi said. “We cannot definitely say who shot.”
Mugiya, a lawyer based in Zimbabwe, said lawyers in South Africa would represent Mugabe in the case.
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.
The Mugabe family has been embroiled in several criminal cases over the years.
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe’s older brother, Robert Mugabe Jr., was fined $300 last year after admitting to possession of marijuana in Zimbabwe.
Grace Mugabe was accused of assaulting a model by beating her with an electrical cord in the presence of her sons at a luxury Johannesburg hotel in 2017. She was Zimbabwe’s first lady at the time and was initially ordered to appear in court before later being granted diplomatic immunity.
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Mutsaka reported from Harare, Zimbabwe.
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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
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