Mugabe's Son Fined, Deported from South Africa

Mugabe's Son Fined, Deported from South Africa Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, was ordered by a South African court on April 29, 2026, to pay a substantial fine and face deportation for pointing a toy gun and violating immigration laws. This ruling follows his arrest in February alongside Tobias Tampirepi Mugabe Matonhodze, after a worker was shot and wounded at a Johannesburg mansion where Mugabe was residing.

Mugabe pleaded guilty to pointing a toy gun in an incident separate from the worker's shooting, and to unspecified immigration violations. He received a 400,000 rand ($24,100) fine for the toy gun incident and a 200,000 rand fine for the immigration offenses. His co-accused, Matonhodze, pleaded guilty to attempted murder of the worker and other charges, receiving a three-year prison sentence followed by deportation. The worker shot twice in the back received a 250,000 rand compensation settlement, with an additional 150,000 rand pending.

Both individuals had been in custody since their arrests and entered guilty pleas as part of negotiations with prosecutors. The firearm used in the shooting incident remains unaccounted for. Robert Mugabe, who governed Zimbabwe for 37 years, was removed from power in 2017 and died in 2019.