Mugabe’s son given fine, to be deported for pointing toy gun

A South African court has ordered the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s former president, Robert Mugabe, to pay a ​large fine for pointing a toy gun at someone and breaking immigration laws.

The court also said Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe would be deported.

Mugabe  believed to be in his late 20s, and another man were arrested in ​February after a worker was shot and wounded at a ​mansion in Johannesburg where Mugabe was staying.

Both have been ⁠in custody since their arrest. They pleaded guilty as part of ​negotiations with prosecutors.

It is not clear how Mugabe broke South ​Africa’s immigration laws, but he pleaded guilty to pointing a toy gun in a separate incident from the one in which the worker was shot.

He ​was given a 400,000 rand ($24,100) fine for pointing the toy ​gun and a 200,000 rand fine for violating immigration rules.

His co-accused Tobias Matonhodze ‌pleaded ⁠guilty to attempted murder of the worker along with other charges like defeating the ends of justice.

Matonhodze was sentenced to three years in prison, after which he will be deported.

The investigating officer told ​the Alexandra Magistrate’s ​Court last ⁠week that the worker, who was shot twice in the back received a compensation settlement of 250,000 ​rand, with a further payment of 150,000 rand to ​come.

The ⁠firearm used in the shooting is still missing.

Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years after independence from Britain in 1980.

He was ousted ⁠in ​a military coup in 2017 and died ​in 2019 at a hospital in Singapore, aged 95. ($1 = 16.60 rand)