Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, 28, the youngest son of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, avoided an attempted murder charge Friday after reaching a plea deal in which he admitted to pointing a gun and breaking immigration laws in South Africa. His co-accused, Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and four other charges. A court set sentencing for both men for April 24.
The guilty pleas resolve a case that has exposed tensions within Zimbabwe’s former ruling family, now scattered across Africa, and highlighted the continued legal vulnerabilities of those connected to Mugabe despite the autocrat’s death in 2019.
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe’s plea agreement has illustrated the uneven application of justice in cases involving powerful families. The 28-year-old, youngest son of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, avoided an attempted murder charge Friday and instead faces sentencing for pointing a gun and violating immigration law.
The case stems from a February incident in which Sipho Mahlangu, an employee at the home, was shot and hospitalized. Mugabe, detained since mid-February, pleaded guilty to “the offense of pointing anything which is likely to lead a person to believe it is a firearm” and to illegally entering and staying in South Africa. His Section 112 plea under South Africa’s Criminal Procedure Act allowed him to avoid a full trial.
His co-accused, Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, took a different approach, pleading guilty to attempted murder and four other charges: possession of an unlawful firearm and ammunition, defeating ends of justice, and illegal immigration. Both men face sentencing on April 24.
The Question of Cooperation
A police investigator presented a central concern: the gun used in the shooting remains missing. Lt. Col. Raj Ramchunder told the court that “the accused, who were there at that time when the firearm was fired and injured the victim, were not assisting them” in locating it.
“The accused shows no remorse in assisting the police in any way to point out the firearm. They know where the firearm is,” Ramchunder said.
Defense lawyer Advocate Laurence Hodes argued for mercy in sentencing, emphasizing that both men had no prior convictions, had compensated their victim financially, and were able to pay any fine imposed by the court. The investigator’s testimony, however, highlighted a key problem: the gun remains unrecovered, and the accused have refused to help locate it.
Wider Context: The Mugabe Family Pattern
Mugabe is the youngest son of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who died in 2019, and Mugabe’s second wife, Grace Mugabe. This is not the first time the Mugabe family has encountered South African courts.
In 2017, Grace Mugabe allegedly attacked young model Gabriella Engels with an extension cord that cut her forehead at a Johannesburg hotel. The South African government awarded her diplomatic immunity, allowing her to depart the country despite calls for her prosecution from opposition parties and human rights organizations. The immunity decision drew strong criticism but ultimately foreclosed prosecution.
The current case reflects the same dynamics evident in the 2017 incident: wealthy, connected individuals navigate the South African justice system with tools and arrangements unavailable to ordinary defendants.