JOHANNESBURG – In the leaf-shrouded, high-walled sanctuary of Hyde Park, where Johannesburg’s old money meets its new political elite, the silence of the affluent suburb was shattered by the crack of gunfire on a Thursday morning that has since unspooled into a forensic nightmare for the Mugabe dynasty. Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the 29-year-old youngest son of the late Zimbabwean strongman Robert Mugabe, now finds himself at the centre of a convoluted attempted murder case that has exposed a lifestyle of illegality, missing firearms, and a desperate defense involving claims of "rituals" and self-inflicted wounds.
The scene at the Wynberg Magistrates' Court this week was a far cry from the champagne-soaked "high life" for which Chatunga is notorious. Dressed in designer gear that seemed out of place in the sterile dock, Bellarmine and his co-accused, 33-year-old bodyguard Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, faced a litany of charges: attempted murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and defeating the ends of justice. Yet, the most significant blow to the young Mugabe’s freedom came not from the shooting itself, but from a folder of documents held by the Department of Home Affairs.
The Immigration Trap
Under South African law, Zimbabwean nationals with valid passports are typically granted a maximum of three months per visit. Bellarmine, it appears, had long overstayed his welcome. "He is an illegal immigrant in the country. That’s why he didn’t apply for bail," a source close to the investigation confirmed. "His lawyers were ready to move on Monday, but they were informed by the police that his status made a bail application impossible."
This is not the first time Bellarmine Chatunga's travel documents have come under scrutiny. City Press obtained movement records showing that the young Mugabe was previously flagged at Lanseria Airport last year for possessing fraudulent visa documentation. Although he was denied entry at the time, he somehow managed to re-enter the country later, raising questions about the permeability of South Africa's borders for the well-connected. In a further twist of irony, Bellarmine reportedly told his lawyers that he could not produce his passport because he had left it at an embassy while applying for a visa—a claim that has done little to convince the authorities of his legal standing.
The Hyde Park Shooting: A Tale of Two Stories
The core of the criminal case rests on the events of February 19, 2026. According to the account Bellarmine gave to the police—one that investigators have described as "unconvincing"—the violence was the result of a bizarre labour dispute.
Bellarmine claimed that his 23-year-old gardener had been performing "certain rituals" on the Hyde Park property, leading to his dismissal earlier that week. On the Thursday morning in question, Bellarmine alleges the gardener returned to the premises armed with a firearm. A "scuffle" supposedly ensued, during which the gardener somehow shot himself before fleeing the property, still bleeding, and taking the weapon with him. Bellarmine further suggested that the gardener did not act alone and that accomplices waiting outside the gates whisked the firearm away as the man was rushed to the hospital.
However, forensic evidence gathered at the scene tells a radically different and more sinister story. Sources close to the investigation have revealed a detail that systematically dismantles the self-defense narrative: the gardener was shot twice in the back.
"It is physically improbable, if not impossible, for a man to shoot himself twice in the back during a scuffle," a forensic expert noted. The nature of the wounds suggests the victim was fleeing his attacker rather than engaging in a struggle for a weapon.
The Mystery of the Multiple Guns
Adding to the complexity is the discovery of numerous spent ammunition cartridges scattered across the property. Crucially, these cartridges were of different calibres, indicating that more than one firearm was discharged during the incident. This find has led investigators to believe that multiple guns were used, potentially involving both Bellarmine and his bodyguard, Matonhodze.
Despite an exhaustive search of the sprawling Hyde Park mansion, no firearms were recovered. The disappearance of the weapons has led to the additional charges of defeating the ends of justice. Police divers were even brought in to search water features on the property, suggesting a belief that the evidence was deliberately concealed or disposed of in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
The Hyde Park property itself has long been a point of interest for local law enforcement. Described as a "home away from home" for loyalists of the late Robert Mugabe, the mansion reportedly houses between 25 and 30 people at any given time. "It operates like a private compound," said a source. "Some people come and go, while others are banished for various offences. It is a place where the rules of the outside world often seem not to apply."
Mounting Troubles: The Rosebank Incident
Bellarmine’s legal woes are not limited to the bloodstains in Hyde Park. As police conducted their searches, a Nigerian man living in Sandton arrived at the scene with a fresh allegation. He claimed that just a week prior, Bellarmine had pointed a firearm at him during a confrontation at The Zone @ Rosebank mall.
The man allegedly possesses video footage of the incident and has since opened a formal case of pointing a firearm. While Bellarmine Chatunga's family and legal team have dismissed the man as a "scammer" seeking to extort money during a crisis, the South African Police Service (SAPS) case management system confirms that the matter has been allocated to a detective for further investigation. If the footage proves authentic, it would establish a pattern of volatile behaviour and illegal firearm use that could see Bellarmine facing a lengthy prison sentence.
A Dynasty in Exile
The arrest of Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe has sent ripples back to Singapore, where his mother, the former First Lady Grace Mugabe, is currently residing. Grace is herself a fugitive from South African justice, following the 2017 assault of model Gabriella Engels with an electrical cord in a Sandton hotel.
"The mother is in Singapore and cannot travel back because of the arrest warrant against her," a source said. "She is reportedly in a state of panic. She wanted Bellarmine back in Zimbabwe because he was misbehaving in South Africa and was suspected of being involved in the use of illegal substances."
The irony is sharp: the family that once ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist now finds its youngest scion trapped in the very legal system his mother once fled. With his illegal status blocking any hope of bail, Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe remains in custody, his fate tied to the missing guns and the testimony of a gardener who was shot in the back.
As the case returns to court on Tuesday, the spotlight remains on the Hyde Park mansion—a gilded cage that has finally failed to protect the Mugabe legacy from the consequences of its own excesses. The investigation continues, with police still hunting for the weapons that spoke so loudly on that Thursday morning, and the truth behind the "rituals" that allegedly sparked a near-fatal confrontation.
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