South African Police have deployed divers to search for a firearm believed to have been used in a shooting in a swimming pool at the Johannesburg home of the son of late Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe.
The incident occurred on Thursday at a residence in the upmarket suburb of Hyde Park, north of Johannesburg. A gardener employed at the property was shot and remains in critical condition in hospital.
According to SABC, the former president’s son, Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, was arrested along with another man in connection with the shooting. Both have been charged with attempted murder.
SABC reported that Mugabe was seen in handcuffs in the driveway after police arrived at the scene. The broadcaster further stated that investigators have widened their probe to locate the missing firearm allegedly used in the shooting.
Securing crime scene
“Police have now widened their investigation looking for this missing gun, which is alleged to have been used here at this crime scene with a gardener at the home of the son of Zimbabwe’s former president, Robert Mugabe,” SABC reported. “Police divers, we understand, are now being brought in… the pool is going to be searched.”
In a statement, South African police confirmed that an employee at the residence had been shot and was in critical condition. Authorities did not initially identify the suspects but confirmed that two men were taken in for questioning as part of an attempted murder investigation.
“The motive of the shooting is unknown at this stage and police investigations are underway,” police spokesperson Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said.
Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years before being removed from power in a military-assisted transition in 2017. He died in Singapore in 2019 at the age of 95.
The latest incident comes nearly a decade after Mugabe’s widow, Grace Mugabe, was accused of assaulting a model at a luxury Johannesburg hotel in 2017. She was later granted diplomatic immunity and did not stand trial in South Africa.
Investigations into Thursday’s shooting remain ongoing.
