JOHANNESBURG – The attempted murder case against Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe (28), son of Zimbabwe’s late president Robert Mugabe, and his co-accused has been postponed by the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court.
Mugabe and Tobias Tamirepi Matonhodze (33) will return to court on Thursday, 5 March, to allow the state to provide the defence with confirmatory documentary evidence from the Department of Home Affairs and to enable the defence to obtain further instructions from the accused.
The two men face charges of attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, two counts of pointing a firearm and contravention of the Immigration Act.
According to the charges, an altercation occurred between the accused and the complainant inside Mugabe’s residence in Johannesburg’s Hyde Park suburb. During the altercation, the complainant was allegedly assaulted and attempted to flee the premises, but was shot in the back and collapsed outside the gate.
It is further alleged that one of the accused took a remote control from the complainant, returned to the property and closed the gate. A security guard from a neighbouring residence reportedly noticed the complainant lying outside and alerted the police.
The accused remain in custody pending their next court appearance.
Mugabe and his older brother Robert Junior gained notoriety in the 2010s for flaunting their lavish lifestyles on social media, including posts showing expensive watches and champagne. Their father ruled Zimbabwe for almost 40 years until he was deposed in a coup in 2017.
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