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In a significant ruling, Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s former leader Robert Mugabe, has been sentenced to pay fines and ordered to be deported back to Zimbabwe following his guilty plea to immigration and firearms-related charges. This decision comes in the wake of a violent incident at the Mugabe family residence in Johannesburg that left a family employee injured.
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
The Johannesburg court’s verdict was delivered on 29 April 2026, just two months after a shooting incident on 19 February, where an employee named Sipho Mahlangu was shot in the back at the Mugabe home, situated in an affluent neighbourhood. Bellarmine, aged 28, along with his cousin Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, 33, was initially implicated in attempted murder charges stemming from the incident. However, Matonhodze subsequently pled guilty to multiple charges, including attempted murder and firearms offences, resulting in a three-year prison sentence.
In a separate case from 2023, Bellarmine was fined 400,000 rand (approximately £17,851) for brandishing a toy gun in a manner that could be misconstrued as a real firearm. Additionally, he received another fine of 200,000 rand (£8,919.50) for violating immigration regulations. Following his guilty plea to these charges, the judge instructed law enforcement to escort him to Johannesburg’s international airport for immediate deportation.