JOHANNESBURG – Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of the late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, was arrested on Thursday afternoon after a shooting at his Hyde Park residence in Johannesburg, an incident which left a gardener in critical condition.
Gauteng police confirmed they are investigating a reported shooting at the Hyde Park property. The incident is understood to have followed an apparent dispute at the residence.
Emergency services responded after reports that an employee, believed to be a security guard, had been shot. The victim was taken to hospital and is said to be in critical condition.
Social media posts circulating on X claimed that Chatunga had been arrested following a shootout at the property. Police have not confirmed the identity of the victim, whether any suspects has been formally charged or the circumstances that led to the shooting.
Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello told IOL that officers were still processing the scene and that further details would be provided once confirmed.
“At this stage we are still at the scene and will give an update once confirmed,” Sello said.
This is not the first time Chatunga is linked to this kind of controversy.
In June last year, he was implicated in an alleged assault at a mining site in Mazowe, Zimbabwe.
According to police and medical documents seen at the time, a security guard and other employees at a concession bordering land associated with the Mugabe family were seriously injured during a confrontation involving armed men.
He accused them of harbouring criminals.
Medical reports indicated that one of the victims sustained fractures and severe bruising classified as potentially permanent.
The matter was recorded at Mazowe Police Station leading to the arrest of Chatunga along with two other suspects, his bodyguards, Peter Fredson and Tinashe Mupawo.
The trio was released on US$200 bail each.
In 2023, South African media reported that Chatunga was accused of assault following an altercation at a Sandton nightclub. Police confirmed that a case had been opened, but the outcome was not publicly disclosed.
He has also faced public scrutiny on social media over his display of luxury vehicles and large sums of cash while residing in South Africa.
