Bellarmine Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s late former president Robert Mugabe, has pleaded guilty to pointing a firearm and residing illegally in South Africa following a shooting incident earlier this year.
The 28-year-old entered his pleas in a court in Alexandra on Friday, after being arrested in February over the shooting of a 23-year-old man at his home in Johannesburg. Mugabe has been held in custody alongside co-accused Tobias Matonhodze.
Matonhodze, 33, pleaded guilty to attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice, illegal immigration and unlawful possession of ammunition.
Mugabe, who had initially also faced an attempted murder charge, spoke briefly in court to confirm he understood the charges and to enter his pleas as part of an agreement with prosecutors. Authorities have not clarified the status of the attempted murder charge against him.
The pair were arrested on February 19 after police responded to reports of a shooting at Mugabe’s residence in the upscale Hyde Park suburb. The victim, believed to be a security guard, was critically injured after being shot twice in the back while attempting to flee, according to prosecutors.
A firearm used in the incident has not yet been recovered, despite a search of the property.
Lawyers representing the accused told the court their clients are willing to return to Zimbabwe at their own expense if they avoid custodial sentences.
Sentencing has been postponed until April 24, the National Prosecuting Authority said.
The case has faced multiple delays since Mugabe’s arrest, including two postponed bail hearings.
Mugabe has previously faced legal trouble. In 2024, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer in Beitbridge, a Zimbabwean border town, and later failed to appear in court. In June 2025, he was again detained over an alleged assault on a security guard at a mining site in Mazowe. That case remains ongoing.
Bellarmine Mugabe is one of two sons Robert Mugabe had with his second wife, Grace Mugabe. The former president ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years before being ousted in a 2017 coup and died in 2019.