South Africa police arrest Mugabe’s son after gardener shot

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Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s son Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, center, is seen with his brother Robert Mugabe Junior accompanying their father’s casket to his official residence in the capital Harare in 2019. (AP/File)
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The youngest son of former Zimbabwean ruler Robert Mugabe has been arrested after a gardener was shot at his South Africa home on Thursday, media reported. (X/@IOL)
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Updated 19 February 2026
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South Africa police arrest Mugabe’s son after gardener shot

  • A police spokeswoman declined to identify the suspects
  • Several South African media outlets reported that one of them was Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe

JOHANNESBURG: The youngest son of former Zimbabwean ruler Robert Mugabe has been arrested after a gardener was shot at his South Africa home on Thursday, media reported.
Police said they had detained two men on charges of attempted murder after the shooting in a wealthy suburb north of Johannesburg.

A police spokeswoman declined to identify the suspects but several South African media outlets reported that one of them was Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe.
Photographs on the IOL News X feed showed pictures of Mugabe, 29, in handcuffs and being escorted by police.
He is the youngest son of Robert Mugabe, the late Zimbabwe president who was ousted in a 2017 military takeover after 37 years in power.
The gardener was in a critical condition, police said.
“The motive of the shooting is unknown at this stage and police investigations are underway,” Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said.
The former president’s two sons with Grace Mugabe, Robert Jr and Bellarmine, sometimes live in Johannesburg where they have a reputation for partying.
In 2019, Grace was accused of attacking an employee at the family home in Zimbabwe with a shoe in 2017.
Nicknamed “Gucci Grace” for her lavish lifestyle, she was also accused of assaulting a model with a power cable in Johannesburg the same year.
Robert Jr, 33, appeared in a Harare court in October last year charged with possession of cannabis, which he denies.


French Culture Minister Dati quits to focus on run for Paris mayor

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French Culture Minister Dati quits to focus on run for Paris mayor

  • Dati sent her resignation letter to President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday
  • Macron’s office said he accepted the resignation

PARIS: French Culture Minister Rachida Dati quit her post on Wednesday to focus on her candidacy for Paris mayor in an election scheduled for March 15.
She sent her resignation letter to President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, she said in an ⁠interview with TV ⁠station BFMTV.
Macron’s office said he accepted the resignation.
“The head of state thanked her for the useful action she ⁠has carried out in service to the French people over the past two years and offered her his full support in the fight she is waging,” the office said.
Dati, who most recently oversaw the change at the ⁠helm ⁠of the Louvre Museum after a series of crises, is seen as the frontrunner in the race to helm city hall by pollster Ifop, but not until after a second round of voting set for March 22.