Chatunga Mugabe Fined R600K, Deported as Hyde Park Shooting Case Comes to an End

...Counterpart Matonhodze Jailed 3 Years for Attempted Murder

Johannesburg - South Africa has fined and deported Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe's late former president Robert Mugabe, while his counter part Tobias Matonhodze has been sentenced to three years in prison after both pleading guilty to firearms and immigration offences linked to the February Hyde Park shooting.

The ruling, handed down on Wednesday at the Alexandra Magistrates' Court, brings to a close a two-month legal saga that began in February when police were called to the property following reports of a worker being shot.

While Mugabe avoided a prison term through a plea deal and the payment of a substantial fine, his co-accused and cousin, Tobias Tamirepi Matonhodze, was sentenced to three years' direct imprisonment after pleading guilty to attempted murder and related charges.

Mugabe (28) was fined R600,000 (approximately US$3400), R400,000 for pointing a firearm which was described in court as a toy gun brandished in a manner that made it appear real in a separate incident, and R200,000 for contravening South Africa's immigration laws by residing in the country illegally.

Magistrate Renier Boshoff ordered police to escort him directly to Johannesburg's O.R.Tambo International Airport for deportation to Zimbabwe, at his own expense.

The case first came to public attention on 19 February when a 23-year-old gardener, identified in reports as Sipho Mahlangu, was shot twice in the back during an altercation at the Hyde Park mansion.

Both men were arrested the same day and have remained in custody since.

Prosecutors initially charged both with attempted murder, but plea negotiations led to a differentiated outcome where Mugabe admitted only to the lesser firearms and immigration offences, while Matonhodze (33) took responsibility for the shooting itself, along with charges including defeating the ends of justice, illegal immigration and unlawful possession of ammunition.

Court documents and police testimony indicated that the injured worker had received compensation of R250,000, with a further R150,000 promised, a factor cited by the defence in mitigation.

The South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed the sentencing, stating that it demonstrated that no one is above the law.

Legal observers however noted the plea arrangement allowed Mugabe to avoid custody in South Africa while addressing the immigration violation that made his continued presence untenable.

Matonhodze's three-year sentence was characterised by the court as merciful, taking into account the partial settlement with the victim.