A son of late Zimbabwe leader Mugabe is ordered deported from South Africa

JOHANNESBURG -- A magistrate ordered a son of the late Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to be immediately deported from South Africa on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to two criminal charges earlier this month.

Magistrate Renier Boshoff ordered that Bellarmine Mugabe be taken by police to an international airport in Johannesburg and be sent back.

Mugabe, 29, had pleaded guilty to brandishing an object "likely to lead a person to believe it is a firearm” and being in South Africa illegally. He was ordered to pay around $36,000 in fines or serve two years in prison.

Mugabe and another man, identified as his cousin, were arrested in February and initially faced charges of attempted murder over the shooting of an employee at Mugabe’s home in Johannesburg. The police have not found the gun used.

Mugabe pleaded guilty to lesser charges unrelated to the shooting in a deal with prosecutors.

His cousin, Tobias Matonhodze, pleaded guilty to attempted murder over the shooting and other charges and was sentenced to three years in prison. Matonhodze will be deported to Zimbabwe after he completes his sentence, the magistrate ruled.

“I do not know whether the second accused took the rap for you," Boshoff told Mugabe. "Number two pleaded guilty on all these counts... and I can only act on what is before me.”

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Mugabe is the youngest child of the former Zimbabwean leader and his second wife, Grace Mugabe. Robert Mugabe led Zimbabwe for 37 years and became renowned as one of Africa's longest-serving autocrats before he was removed in a coup in 2017. He died two years later, aged 95.

The Mugabe family has been embroiled in several criminal cases over the years.

Grace Mugabe was accused of assaulting a model by beating her with an electrical cord in the presence of her sons at a luxury Johannesburg hotel in 2017. She was first lady at the time and was initially ordered to appear in court, but later was granted diplomatic immunity.

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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa