Mugabe son's lawyers, prosecution '98%' close to reaching plea deal

Prosecutors and defence lawyers representing Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe say they are "98 percent" close to finalising a plea agreement after he was charged with attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice, illegal possession of a firearm and overstaying his visa.

The development emerged at the Alexandra Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where the 28-year-old appeared alongside his co-accused, Tobias Matonhodze.

The pair have abandoned their bail application and are seeking to avoid a lengthy trial by pleading guilty to some of the charges in exchange for reduced sentences.

Negotiations with the prosecution are expected to culminate in agreed prison terms, which must be presented before a magistrate who will decide whether to endorse or reject the plea deal.

Details of the agreement are expected to be disclosed when the two men return to court on March 24.

Mugabe and Matonhodze were arrested on February 19 in the Johannesburg suburb of West Park after a gardener at the property was shot following what prosecutors described as a dispute.

Police say the gardener had not reported for work for several weeks, although it remains unclear whether this was linked to the shooting. Authorities have also been unable to establish who fired the shot, and the firearm used has not been recovered.

The victim is expected to make a full recovery.

Bellarmine is the youngest child of the late former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and his second wife, Grace Mugabe. The former leader died in Singapore in 2019 after ruling Zimbabwe for 37 years before being removed from power in the 2017 Zimbabwe military coup.

The Mugabe family has faced a series of legal controversies over the years. Bellarmine's older brother, Robert Mugabe Jr, was fined $300 last year after admitting to possession of cannabis in Harare.

Grace Mugabe was also accused of assaulting a model with an electrical cord at a Johannesburg hotel in 2017. She was initially ordered to appear in court but was later granted diplomatic immunity.

Bellarmine himself has twice been arrested in Zimbabwe — once for aggressive conduct at a police roadblock near Beitbridge, and in a separate matter for allegedly taking part in a violent assault on gold prospectors who had encroached on the family's farm in Mazowe. Both cases remain pending.