Robert Mugabe's Son Chatunga Faces Fresh Charge After Arrest Over ZACC Investigator Assault

• Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe and four other men were arrested in Harare over an altercation with an Anti-Corruption Commission investigator
• Prosecutors added a robbery charge to the case, alleging the group stole a loaded pistol and a mobile phone from the ZACC official
• Mugabe and his co-accused appeared before a Harare magistrate and were each granted bail of US$100 on Friday, November 6

Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the 29-year-old son of Zimbabwe's late former president Robert Mugabe, is facing mounting legal pressure after prosecutors added fresh charges to an already serious case against him in Harare.

Chatunga and four co-accused were originally arrested after allegedly assaulting a Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) investigator, Panyika Lloyd Mupanduki, during an operation linked to suspected illegally imported luxury vehicles.

The investigator reportedly sustained a deep cut on his forehead during the confrontation.

Fresh charge added to Mugabe's son's case

According to reports, Prosecutors subsequently introduced a robbery charge, alleging that the group forcibly took Mupanduki's Norinco Star pistol, which was loaded with 11 rounds of ammunition, along with his Samsung A56 mobile phone, which was smashed on the ground.

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The firearm was later recovered from one of Chatunga Mugabe's co-accused, Terence Johannes Chinyemba, identified as the second accused in the proceedings.

Chatunga appeared before Harare Magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai alongside Munashe Mubhawu, Terence Johannes Chinyemba, Fredson Peter, and Solomon Pamire. The five men faced charges of robbery and malicious damage to property.

Mugabe's son bail granted, trial date pending

All five accused were each granted bail of US$100 on Friday, 6 November, after the State confirmed it had no compelling grounds to oppose their release.

As conditions of their bail, the men were required to remain at their registered residential addresses, report to police once weekly, and refrain from contacting State witnesses.

The case has been adjourned to 24 November 2026, when a trial date is expected to be set.

The latest proceedings follow a separate legal episode earlier in 2026, when Chatunga was arrested in South Africa in February.

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He subsequently pleaded guilty to offences involving immigration violations and pointing an object resembling a firearm, resulting in a fine and a deportation order.

All five accused in the Zimbabwe case are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

Ghanaian journalist arrested over fraud

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported on Ghanaian journalist Samuel Obeng Mensah, who was arrested over allegations that he collected GH¢178,900 from 13 people while promising to secure their enlistment in the Ghana Armed Forces and other security services.

None of the applicants were enlisted, investigators said. A video showing armed police escorting the handcuffed journalist outside an Accra courthouse has since circulated widely online.

Source: YEN.com.gh