Arrests, accusations and arguments – the Mugabe family after losing power. 3 hours ago. Khanyisile NgcoboJohannesburg. Reuters. The arrest in South Africa of the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s former President, Robert Mugabe, has brought renewed attention to the former first family and their controversies over the years.. Bellarmine Mugabe, who is due in court on Wednesday for a bail hearing, is accused of attempted murder, among other charges, after a 23-year-old man was shot and injured at a property in an upmarket suburb of Johannesburg.. He has not commented on the charges.. His father led Zimbabwe for 37 years before being forced out of power at the age of 93 in 2017. He died two years later.. The long-serving president and his second wife Grace had three children together:. Bona Mugabe – now 37. Robert Mugabe Jr – now 33. Bellarmine Mugabe – now 28.. Grace also had a son from an earlier marriage:. Russell Goreraza – now in his early 40s.. Managing editor of Zimbabwean privately owned NewsHawks website, Dumisani Muleya, told the BBC that the Mugabe family had “lived a life of privilege” and that the children “grew up in that environment where they were protected from the broader realities of the Zimbabwean political and socio-economic situation”.. The family had amassed a vast personal fortune, including $10m (£7.5m) in cash, four houses, 10 cars, a farm and an orchard among other assets.. These details emerged three months after Robert Mugabe’s death in a legal letter submitted to the high court in Zimbabwe by his daughter Bona. At the time, a lawyer for the family, Terrence Hussein, told the BBC that none of the properties were under the former leader’s name.. In 2013, Grace denied that her husband was accumulating wealth while in office, saying her husband did not earn as much as people thought as he was a civil servant.. “The allowance I get is just a pittance. I’m a business-minded person [and] I support my husband [by] running our private businesses,” she said.. Here is a run-down of what has happened to the family members:. Bellarmine Mugabe. Like his siblings, he grew up in the public eye and was subjected to scrutiny from a young age.. But as a teenager it was Bellarmine’s approach to studying that appeared to have been a concern for his parents.. In a wide-ranging interview in 2013 on South African television, they described his playfulness and lack of focus on academics.. Grace said she wanted him to “change his ways” and “concentrate on his studies”.. “He should be more serious than he is at the moment,” his father added.. Bellarmine sheepishly admitted to spending more time on video games than his schoolwork.. Gallo Images/Getty Images. Bellarmine and his older brother Robert Jr have made headlines over the years for their flashy lifestyles in the face of rising poverty in Zimbabwe.. In 2017, a few weeks before the coup in which his father was ousted, he posted a picture of a $60,000 watch he was wearing on Instagram.. A few months
