Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, a son of the late Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, appeared in a Harare court on Thursday facing assault charges. He was arrested Tuesday along with four other men at a lodge during an operation linked to the alleged smuggling of a Lamborghini and a Mercedes-Benz into the country.
According to an anti-corruption commission spokesperson, officers were attempting to seize the vehicles when one of the officials was assaulted. The spokesperson stated that the vehicles were in Zimbabwe illegally. The vehicles have not been directly linked to Bellarmine Mugabe.
Bellarmine, 29, is the youngest child of Robert Mugabe and his second wife, Grace. This incident is the latest in a string of legal issues involving members of the former president's family. In October, Bellarmine faced drug possession charges in Harare, which were later withdrawn after a co-accused accepted responsibility for possessing cannabis.
In April, Bellarmine was deported from South Africa after pleading guilty to brandishing an object believed to be a firearm and being in the country illegally. He was fined and ordered deported as part of a plea deal.
Grace Mugabe, his mother, was previously involved in a legal dispute in South Africa in 2017 after allegedly assaulting a model. While initially granted diplomatic immunity, the decision was overturned by the country's High Court in 2018.
Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years before being removed from power in a 2017 coup. He died in 2019.