Where 'illegal migrant' Chatunga Mugabe's lots of millions come from… Who is Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze?

JOHANNESBURG – The high walls and electric fences of Hyde Park, one of Johannesburg’s most affluent suburbs, have long served as a sanctuary for the continent’s ultra-wealthy. Behind these fortifications, the children of the late Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe have lived a life of opulence, shielded from the economic ruin their father’s four-decade rule inflicted upon their homeland. However, that shield of perceived invincibility shattered last week when the South African Police Service (SAPS) descended upon a luxury residence to arrest Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of the former president, following a violent shooting incident that has laid bare the lawless underbelly of the Mugabe dynasty.

The arrest of the twenty-eight-year-old Bellarmine, known colloquially as "Chatunga," marks a significant turning point for a family that once operated with absolute impunity across Southern Africa. For years, the Mugabe children—Robert Junior and Bellarmine—have been fixtures of the Sandton social scene, notorious for their "champagne-dousing" parties and a string of violent altercations that rarely resulted in meaningful legal consequences. But as Bellarmine now languishes in a South African jail cell, facing a litany of charges, the "diplomatic immunity" myth that long protected the family appears to have finally evaporated.

The Hyde Park Standoff and Mounting Charges

The events that led to Bellarmine’s downfall began on the afternoon of February 19, 2026. According to police reports, a twenty-three-year-old gardener employed at the Hyde Park property where Bellarmine resides was shot twice during a heated confrontation. The victim, whose identity has been withheld for his protection, was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition and remains under police guard. Initial reports from the scene suggest the gardener was shot in the back, a detail that has added a layer of brutality to the already shocking allegations.

When the SAPS Gauteng provincial police arrived at the scene, they were met not with cooperation, but with a defiant standoff. The occupants of the residence initially refused to grant entry to the authorities, leading to a lengthy negotiation process. It was only after the arrival of specialised units, including the K9 dog unit and police divers, that the property was eventually searched. Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, the Gauteng provincial police spokesperson, confirmed to journalists at the property that while a cartridge was recovered, the firearm alleged to have been used in the shooting remained missing during the initial sweep.

Bellarmine was taken into custody alongside Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze. The relationship between the two has been a subject of intense speculation in Johannesburg’s Zimbabwean community. Matonhodze is described by those close to the family as a "relative" and a "prodigal son" of the Mugabe clan, often seen acting as a confidant and enforcer for the younger Mugabe brothers.

Magaboke Mohlatlole, a national prosecuting authority spokesperson, elaborated on the theft charge, stating: "The charge of defeating and obstructing the course of justice specifically relates to the unrecovered firearm, with Prosecutor Lufuno Maphiri indicating that the state intends to rely on the doctrine of common purpose for the attempted murder charge."

Bail Denied, Investigations Continue

The case was postponed to March 3, 2026, in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court, where both men are expected to bring a formal bail application. However, the state has confirmed its intention to oppose their release on bail, citing ongoing investigations, including profiling procedures and verification of the men’s status in South Africa by the Department of Home Affairs. Defence lawyer Sinenhlanhla Mnguni acknowledged the necessity of the postponement, stating,

A Pattern of Lawlessness

To understand the gravity of Bellarmine’s current predicament, one must look at the history of the Mugabe family’s life in South Africa. For over a decade, the "Mugabe boys" have treated Johannesburg as their personal playground, funded by the vast and often opaque wealth of their parents. Their lifestyle was perhaps best captured in a viral video from 2017, which showed Bellarmine dousing a $60,000 diamond-encrusted watch with Armand de Brignac "Ace of Spades" champagne. "When your daddy runs the whole country, ya know!" he had captioned the post, a statement that now rings with a hollow irony.

The family’s history of violence in South Africa is well-documented. In 2017, their mother, Grace Mugabe, allegedly assaulted a young South African model, Gabriella Engels, with an extension cord in a Sandton hotel room. While the South African government initially granted her diplomatic immunity, a high court ruling in 2018 annulled that decision, declaring it unconstitutional. This legal precedent was the first crack in the family’s armour, yet the children seemed to have ignored the warning.

The list of incidents suggests a family that believed the rules of ordinary society did not apply to them. In October 2025, Robert Mugabe Junior was arrested after driving the wrong way down a one-way street in Harare while in possession of illegal drugs. He was later convicted and fined, a relatively light sentence that many Zimbabweans viewed as another example of the family’s "untouchable" status.

The Sources of the Mugabe Millions

The "Mugabe family secrets" regarding their wealth have long been a source of both fascination and fury for the millions of Zimbabweans living in poverty. While the official estate of Robert Mugabe was valued at approximately $10 million upon his death in 2019, investigative reports and leaked diplomatic cables suggest a much larger fortune, estimated to be upwards of £1 billion.

The primary sources of this wealth are believed to be tied to Zimbabwe’s lucrative diamond mining sector. Monitoring groups such as Global Witness have linked the Mugabe family to billions of dollars in "unaccounted for" revenue from the Marange and Chiadzwa diamond fields. It is alleged that high-grade diamonds were systematically siphoned out of the country through a network of parastatals and security bosses loyal to the Mugabe regime.

This wealth was funnelled into a variety of assets, including:

• Gushungo Holdings: A vast business empire that included the Omega Dairy farm, one of the largest and most modern dairy facilities in Southern Africa. However, the business collapsed when Mugabe was ousted from power.
• International Real Estate: Properties in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Dubai, as well as several luxury villas in Johannesburg’s Sandton and Hyde Park districts.
• Luxury Assets: A collection of high-end vehicles, including Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, and a legendary collection of designer jewellery and clothing belonging to Grace Mugabe, who earned the moniker "Gucci Grace."

The South African elite, many of whom maintained close ties with the Mugabe family during the era of "quiet diplomacy," are now distancing themselves. The political landscape has shifted, and the current South African authorities appear more willing to hold the family accountable for their actions on South African soil.

The End of the "Diplomatic Immunity" Myth

For years, the Mugabe children lived under the assumption that their father’s legacy and their mother’s political connections would provide a permanent shield. This "diplomatic immunity" was not just a legal status but a psychological one. They operated with the belief that no South African policeman would dare arrest a Mugabe, and no South African court would dare convict one.

However, the current charges against Bellarmine include a particularly telling detail: he is being charged as an "illegal immigrant." Authorities discovered that his permit to reside in South Africa had lapsed, stripping him of even the most basic legal protections. This charge, perhaps more than the attempted murder allegation, signifies the total collapse of the Mugabe dynasty’s standing. The "prince" of Zimbabwe is now, in the eyes of the South African state, just another foreign national facing the full weight of the law.

The victim of the shooting, the gardener, remains the silent centre of this storm. His critical condition serves as a grim reminder of the human cost of the family’s alleged lawlessness. In Zimbabwe, the Mugabe name was synonymous with a regime that many accused of using violence to maintain power. In the suburbs of Johannesburg, that same violence appears to have been exported, directed at the very people employed to maintain the family’s luxurious lifestyle.

The Downfall and the Legacy

As Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe prepares for his next court appearance on March 3, 2026, the significance of his downfall cannot be overstated. For the Mugabe family, this is not merely a legal battle; it is the final evaporation of a dynasty. The protection that once came from being the children of "the Great Liberator" has been replaced by the cold reality of a jail cell in Alexandra.

The "Mugabe Legacy" is now defined not by the liberation struggle of the 1970s, but by the crime sprees of the 2020s. The family’s transition from political royalty to common criminals has been swift and brutal. As one Zimbabwean expatriate living in Johannesburg remarked outside the court, "They thought they owned the world because of their father’s name. Now they are finding out that the world has moved on, and the name Mugabe no longer opens doors—it only opens the gates of a prison."

The investigation into the Hyde Park shooting continues, with SAPS divers still searching for the missing firearm. But regardless of the outcome of the trial, the "Secret Life" of the Mugabe children in South Africa has been exposed for what it truly was: a tragic tale of power, privilege, and the eventual reckoning that comes when the protection of a dynasty finally disappears. The fall of Bellarmine Mugabe is the final chapter in the story of a family that believed they were above the law, only to find that the law, however slow, eventually catches up with everyone.

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