Son of President Mugabe detained over shooting in South Africa

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s former leader, was held by police after the incident at his home

Robert Mugabe's son Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe (centre) was reportedly detained after an incident at his house (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

One of former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s sons were detained by police over the shooting of a man at a house in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe was detained for questioning along with another man, SABC, the country’s national broadcaster said.

SABC added that the shooting occurred at Mugabe’s home and that he was seen in handcuffs in the driveway after police arrived.

Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe's former leader, who died in 2019, and his second wife, Grace Mugabe, was seen in handcuffs in the driveway after police arrived

South African police said in a statement that an employee at the house in a plush Johannesburg suburb had been shot and was in a critical condition.

Robert Mugabe died in 2019 (PA Archive)

Police did not name the two men taken in for questioning but said they were investigating a case of attempted murder.

"The motive of the shooting is unknown at this stage and police investigations are underway," police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said.

Robert Mugabe led Zimbabwe for 37 years before he was deposed in a coup in 2017. He died two years later in Singapore at the age of 95.

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe's older brother, Robert Mugabe Jr, was fined 300 dollars last year after admitting to possession of marijuana in Zimbabwe.

Grace Mugabe was accused of assaulting a model in the presence of her sons Robert Jr and Bellarmine at a luxury Johannesburg hotel in 2017.

That immunity was overturned by a South African court this year after the alleged victim, Gabriella Engels, challenged the decision.

The 53-year-old had been jockeying to become Zimbabwe’s next president until her husband, Robert Mugabe, was deposed in 2017 after nearly four decades of rule.

She has since retreated from the public eye, and has denied assaulting Ms Engels. She has claimed the “intoxicated and unhinged” model attacked her first with a knife, which Ms Engels’ representatives AfriForum dismissed as a lie.

She was Zimbabwe's first lady at the time and was initially ordered to appear in court before later being granted diplomatic immunity.