Mugabe's son faces assault charges in Zimbabwe linked to luxury car smuggling case

HARARE, Zimbabwe — A son of the late Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe appeared in a court in Harare on Thursday accused of assaulting an anti-corruption agency official during an operation linked to the alleged smuggling of two luxury vehicles into the country.

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe arrived at the Harare Magistrates Court with four other men who were arrested with him at a lodge.

Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said Bellarmine, 29, and the four others were arrested Tuesday and face assault charges.

An anti-corruption commission spokesperson told state media Wednesday that officers had gone to the lodge to seize a Lamborghini and a Mercedes-Benz when one of the officials was assaulted. The spokesperson said the vehicles were in the country illegally.

Neither vehicle has been linked to Bellarmine, who is Mugabe’s youngest child with his second wife, Grace.

The arrest is the latest in a series of legal troubles involving members of the former president’s family in Zimbabwe and neighboring South Africa.

Bellarmine appeared in a Harare court in October on drug possession charges, but prosecutors withdrew them after his co-accused accepted responsibility for possessing cannabis.

Other cases involving Bellarmine and his older brother, Robert Jr., in recent years have largely centered on allegations of cannabis possession, assault and property damage.

In April, Bellarmine was deported from South Africa after pleading guilty to brandishing an object “likely to lead a person to believe it is a firearm” and being in the country illegally. He was ordered to pay fines totaling about $36,000 or serve two years in prison. A magistrate also ordered his immediate deportation as part of a plea deal.

Their mother, Grace Mugabe, became embroiled in a high-profile legal dispute in South Africa in 2017 after allegedly assaulting a young model she found in the company of her sons at a Johannesburg hotel. South African authorities initially granted Grace diplomatic immunity, but the country’s High Court overturned that decision in 2018 following a legal challenge.

Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years before being ousted in a military-backed coup in 2017. He died in 2019 at age 95.