Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s late former president Robert Mugabe, has been arrested in Harare on allegations of possessing danger...
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s late former president Robert Mugabe, has been arrested in Harare on allegations of possessing dangerous drugs and is expected to appear before the Harare Magistrates Court for initial remand.
Chatunga was escorted to court on Friday morning alongside a friend, with the two reportedly handcuffed together. Police allege that they were found in possession of dangerous drugs. The case is at an early stage, and the allegations have yet to be determined by the court.
The arrest comes approximately seven months after Chatunga was ordered to leave South Africa following a separate legal case that resulted in financial penalties and his deportation to Zimbabwe.
In March, a South African court ordered Chatunga’s immediate deportation and imposed fines totalling R600,000. The penalties arose from a case involving the pointing of a toy gun at a complainant and violations of immigration laws.
The court fined him R400,000, with 24 months’ imprisonment as the alternative, for pointing the toy gun at a person in circumstances that made the complainant believe it was real. He was also fined R200,000, with 18 months’ imprisonment as the alternative, for immigration violations.
During sentencing, the magistrate said the court would ordinarily not impose a fine for immigration offences but had made an exception because Chatunga had the means to pay. The magistrate also told him he was “lucky” that the complainant had not been injured.
The South African court declared Chatunga unfit to possess a firearm and ordered that he be escorted directly to OR Tambo International Airport for deportation to Zimbabwe.
His cousin and co-accused in the South African case, Tobias Matonhodze, received a prison sentence after being convicted of more serious offences arising from the same matter.
Matonhodze was convicted of attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice by concealing a firearm, and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was sentenced to an effective three years in prison, with the sentences running concurrently.
He was also due to be deported after completing his prison term. The court said his sentence was reduced after he pleaded guilty and because the victim had been compensated.
At the time, the South African court described the outcome as a balance between justice and mercy.
Chatunga, who is the youngest son of Robert and Grace Mugabe, has previously encountered legal difficulties in Zimbabwe and South Africa. However, the supplied information indicates that he had not previously received a custodial sentence.
His latest arrest brings him before Zimbabwean courts in a separate case involving allegations of dangerous drug possession. The new matter is distinct from the South African proceedings, which concerned the toy-gun incident and immigration violations.
Police investigations into the latest allegations are ongoing. Chatunga is expected to appear for initial remand, where the court will deal with the initial proceedings in the case.
Further details about the alleged drugs, the circumstances of the arrest and the charges to be formally placed before the court were not provided in the information available for this report.
The case is developing, and the allegations against Chatunga and his friend remain allegations unless and until they are proved in court.
