Anti-corruption officers who went to a guest lodge in Harare to seize a black Lamborghini Urus and a Mercedes-Benz say one of their own was attacked. Now the youngest son of Zimbabwe's late president Robert Mugabe is in police custody.

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, 29, and four other men were arrested after the alleged assault at the Brompton Guest Lodge in Harare's Highlands suburb at about 6.30pm on Tuesday, according to a police statement signed by Commissioner P. Nyathi and reported by 3News. The five were expected in court on Thursday.

Police named the others as Solomon Pamire, 34, Fredson Peter, 33, Terrence Johannes Chinyemba, 42, and Munashe Mubawu, 43. None of them has been convicted of any offence, and no response from Mugabe or his lawyers had been reported by Thursday morning.

The cars at the centre of the case

The arrests came during an inquiry by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) into two vehicles suspected to be in the country illegally. ZACC spokesperson Simiso Mlevu said the commission "seized two high-end vehicles, that is the Lamborghini Urus and the Mercedes-Benz", and that one of its officers was attacked during the operation, according to Nehanda Radio as cited by 3News.

Mlevu said records showed the Lamborghini entering Zimbabwe in June and leaving on July 12, while the Mercedes was logged as departing for South Africa on October 10. Investigators then found both cars at the lodge.

AllAfrica, citing police documents, reports the vehicles were a Mercedes-Benz GLE 53 and a Lamborghini Urus with South African registration, allegedly kept at a property on Brompton Road for about a month to avoid customs duty, with no temporary import permit found. The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority is listed as the complainant.

The charges

Police describe the case against the five as assault. Reports by NewZimbabwe and allAfrica say they also face a fraud charge under section 136 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, with smuggling under section 182 of the Customs and Excise Act as an alternative count. ZACC has not said who owns the cars, and investigations continue.

A troubled year

It is not the first time this year that Chatunga has made headlines for the wrong reasons:

  • In February he was arrested in Johannesburg's Hyde Park after a worker at the house where he was staying was shot and wounded.
  • In April, a South African court fined him R600,000 under a plea deal and ordered his deportation after he admitted immigration offences and pointing an object resembling a firearm. The attempted murder charge against him was not pursued.
  • Last month, a cannabis possession charge in Zimbabwe was withdrawn before plea.

Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years until he was forced out in 2017 and died in 2019. Bellarmine is his youngest son with his widow, Grace Mugabe.

Photos: Press Service of the President of Russia via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0, Robert Mugabe); allAfrica (Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.