After spending two months in jail since the shooting incident at the Mugabe Hyde Park residence in Johannesburg, the son of Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe has been deported from South Africa.
Mugabe and his co-accused, cousin Tobias received their judgement at the Alexandra Magistrate’s court, after the pair pleaded guilty last week. Bellarmine (28) and Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze (33), were arrested after a 23 year old gardener was shot in February. The pair offered a compensation amount totalling R400 000 to the victim and pleaded guilty in an effort towards a plea deal.
Earlier this month, Matonhodze pleaded guilty to attempted murder, firearms offences, defeating the ends of justice – as the gun was never found – and contravening immigration law. He was sentenced on Wednesday to three years in prison.
Meanwhile, Mugabe was ordered to pay a fine of R400 000 for pointing a toy gun in a way that was likely to be seen as real firearm, over a separate incident in 2023. He was also fined R200 000 for breaking immigration law. He had pleaded guilty to both offences. The judge also ordered police to take him to the airport for immediate deportation.
He was deported and arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday. The magistrate said the sentences were mitigated by the two men pleading guilty to the offences, the time they had spent in prison since the shooting on 19 February, and because the victim, 23-year-old Sipho Mahlangu, wanted to withdraw the charges after being paid by Mugabe and Matonhodze. Prosecutors had asked for lengthy jail sentences for both men.
Images: Reuters, Chriselda Lewis
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