Fainting, missing gun, and Grace risks arrest: The Mugabe Joburg mansion mystery

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe and his mother Grace. Picture: ZINYANGE AUNTONY / AFP It might be six years since controversial former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe died, but his family still can’t keep out of the headlines. A shooting at the Mugabe home in Johannesburg on Thursday saw the late politician’s son, Chatunga Bellarmine Mugabe, and another suspect, now reported to be his bodyguard, arrested on attempted murder charges.

Police said preliminary investigations suggested a labour dispute between the gardener and one of the suspects may have led to the incident. It was initially reported that Mugabe barricaded himself in his room after the shooting, but later cooperated with police. While a cartridge was found on the scene, police were not able to find the gun used in the crime.

The house remained under lockdown since the incident, and searches for the firearm seem to have so far drawn a blank. Sources toldCity Pressthat Mugabe told the cops that the person shot was not a gardener but a security guard, and the man had shot himself. This, amid reports that the victim was shot in the back twice.

[paywall]

Mugabe further alleged that the dispute was because he had fired the guard for performing traditional rituals on the property. He alleged the gun is missing because the guard came with accomplices, who were waiting outside the gate and took the firearm when the man was rushed to hospital. Police reportedly believe it may have been tampered with by Mugabe’s friends, who arrived first at the scene.

A neighbour also claimed Mugabe had pointed a firearm at him in a previous encounter at a mall, but there are suspicions it may have been an attempted scam. News24 reported Mugabe had fainted twice while in custody, reportedly due to a medical condition.

[/paywall]