Chatunga Mugabe Arrested For Drugs in Zim, Seven Months After SA Deportation
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, son of the late former President Robert Mugabe, has been arrested in Harare for possession of dangerous drugs, just seven months after avoiding a jail term in South Africa.
Chatunga was escorted into the Harare Magistrates Court on Friday morning after being arrested alongside a friend. Police allege the two were found in possession of dangerous drugs. He is expected to appear for initial remand. He arrived at Harare Magistrates Courts handcuffed to his friend.
The arrest comes after his high-profile case in South Africa earlier this year.
In March, a South African court ordered his immediate deportation and fined him a total of R600,000.
He was fined R400,000 or 24 months in prison for pointing a toy gun at a victim in a way that made the victim believe it was real, and R200,000 or 18 months for immigration violations. The court said it normally does not fine for immigration offences, but made an exception because he had the means to pay. The magistrate told him he was “lucky” the complainant was not injured, declared him unfit to possess a firearm, and ordered that he be escorted directly to OR Tambo International Airport for deportation to Zimbabwe.
His cousin and co-accused, Tobias Matonhodze, received a harsher sentence in the same South African matter. Matonhodze was convicted of attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice by concealing a firearm, and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was sentenced to an effective three years in prison, to run concurrently, and will also be deported after completing his sentence. The court said his sentence was softened because he pleaded guilty and because the victim had been compensated.
At the time, the South African court described the outcome as a balance of justice and mercy.
Chatunga, the youngest son of Robert and Grace Mugabe, has had previous brushes with the law in both Zimbabwe and South Africa, but had not faced a custodial sentence.
His latest arrest in Harare now places him back before the courts on a separate charge relating to dangerous drugs, with police investigations ongoing.