Police in South Africa have detained the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s late former president Robert Mugabe after a reported shooting at a property in an upmarket suburb in Johannesburg.
Bellarmine Mugabe (28), was taken into custody after a 23-year-old man, believed to be a gardener, was shot in what police are describing as a case of attempted murder.
Officers searching the house in Hyde Park, where Mugabe was staying, have found bullet cartridges but no firearm, police have said.
Bellarmine Mugabe is the youngest son of Robert and his second wife Grace Mugabe. Robert Mugabe, who died in 2019, led Zimbabwe for 37 years before being forced out of power at the age of 93 in 2017.
Two people have been detained for questioning as the South African police determine the circumstances of the shooting but neither has been arrested, police spokesperson colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said.
Police are not yet officially naming Bellarmine Mugabe as one of those being held, but reporters at the scene saw him in handcuffs and he has been widely named by local media.
The victim is in hospital and in a critical condition after being shot once, the spokesperson added.
In a briefing outside the property, Nevhuhulwi said the two being questioned have not “told us where the gun is, they are not saying anything about the gun”.
-BBC
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