By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Police in South Africa have taken into custody the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s late former President Robert Mugabe, in connection with an attempted murder after a reported shooting at a property in an upmarket suburb of Johannesburg.
Bellarmine Mugabe, 28, was arrested after a 23-year-old man, believed to be a gardener, was shot and injured, a BBC report says.
Officers while searching the house in Hyde Park, where Mugabe lived had discovered bullet cartridges but no firearm was found, police have said.
Bellarmine Mugabe is the youngest son of Robert from his second wife Grace Mugabe. Robert Mugabe, who died in 2019, led Zimbabwe for 37 years before being forced out of power at the age of 93 in 2017.
Another suspect has been arrested alongside Bellarmine Mugabe as investigations continue, police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said.
The duo are expected to appear in court “soon”, according to a police statement.
Police have not officially named Bellarmine Mugabe as one of those arrested, but reporters at the scene saw him in handcuffs and he has been widely named by local media.
The victim is in hospital and in a critical condition after being shot once, the spokesperson added.
Briefing newsmen outside the property, the police spokesperson said the two suspects have not “told us where the gun is, they are not saying anything about the gun”.
