Bellarmine Mugabe, the 28-year-old youngest son of Zimbabwe’s late former President Robert Mugabe, has been arrested in South Africa on suspicion of attempted murder following a reported shooting in Johannesburg.
Police confirmed that B. Mugabe was taken into custody after a 23-year-old man, believed to be a gardener, was shot and critically injured at a property in the affluent Hyde Park suburb.
Officers who searched the residence recovered bullet cartridges but said no firearm was found at the scene.
A second man was also arrested as investigations continue, according to police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi. Both suspects are expected to appear in court soon. While police have not formally named Mugabe as one of the individuals arrested, journalists at the scene reported seeing him in handcuffs, and several local media outlets have identified him.
The victim remains in hospital in a critical condition after sustaining a single gunshot wound. Addressing reporters outside the property, Nevhuhulwi said the suspects had not disclosed the whereabouts of the firearm and were not cooperating on that aspect of the investigation.
Bellarmine Mugabe is the son of Robert Mugabe and his second wife, Grace Mugabe. Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years before being forced from office in 2017. He died in 2019.