WATCH | Gunshots at Mugabe home ‘frequent’, residents claim

A Hyde Park security guard has revealed that the shooting at the home of the late Robert Mugabe’s sons that left a gardener badly wounded was not the first time gunshots were heard from the sprawling mansion.

According to the man who asked to remain anonymous, gunshots were also heard from the property several months back.

The man spoke to Sowetan as drama unfolded in the at the property in Hydepark, Sandton yesterday.

Police descended on the mansion after a gardener was shot and wounded allegedly by Mugabe’s son Bellarmine. The 27-year-old was arrested with another unnamed suspect yesterday. They are expected to appear at the Alexandra magistrate’s court on a charge of attempted murder.

Residents in the area also revealed to Sowetan that they had often heard gunshots although they could not say if they came from the same house.

Sowetan understands that the house is home to Bellarmine Mugabe and his 33-year-old brother Robert Mugabe Jnr.

According to a security guard who works at one of the properties in the area, footage captured from cameras from one of the houses shows the moment the man falling on the street after sustaining a gunshot wound.

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Police have confirmed the employee who was wounded was a gardener.

According to a security guard in the area, a CCTV footage captured the gardener exiting the Mugabe house and then laying on the ground.

“I heard two gunshots. I then decided to check what was happening. That is when I saw the man in the street lying down. He was followed by another man who was holding his phone. The man then went back into the yard,” said the gaurd.

He said he heard the gunshots at around 10am and immediately contacted private security tactical team.

Gauteng police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, who was at the scene, told reporters that the police will be investigating an attempted murder charge after the 23-year-old gardener was shot.

“The information we have is that around 10am a diplomatic unit was patrolling around the area, and they were stopped by a security vehicle that informed them that there is a shooting incident in this area.

“Upon arriving here, that is when they found the victim who was shot. They managed to speak to him before he was taken to hospital, and the victim indicated that he is an employee [at the Mugabes home].”

Nevhuhulwi said the circumstances of the shooting were still sketchy and that the men were uncooperative as they were not telling cops where the firearm is.

She also said the victim sustained one gunshot wound and police could not definitely say who shot the man and where the firearm was.

A dog unit was called to searching the house for the firearm used in the shooting. Nevhuhulwi said police found cartridges from the house and that will form part of the investigation.

A man believed to be part of Bellarmine’s private security team, who arrived at the scene after the shooting, said Bellarmine was uncooperative and refused to open the gate. He, however, opened the gate when the police arrived.

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Two other neighbours who claimed to have heard the gunshots coming from the house said this was not the first time that happened.

“On Monday, I heard shots as well in this area. But I can’t say they were coming from this house. This is meant to be a secure area because there are high-profile people who live here, so you expect it to be a bit more safer but apparently it isn’t.”

Another one said: “It is not for the first time we are hearing gunshots. We are feeling scared as neighbours.”

This is not the first time the Mugabe family have faced controversy.

Sowetan’s sister publication TimesLIVE previously said Robert Mugabe Jnr and Bellarmine have been described as “ticking PR timebombs” known for lavish parties and unruly behaviour that previously led to their eviction from their luxury Sandton apartments.

In October last year, Robert Mugabe Jnr appeared in court in Harare on a charge of drug possession. This was after he was arrested by police who spotted a vehicle travelling on the wrong way down a one-way street.

Nine years ago, Bellarmine was in the news when his mother, Grace Mugabe, was alleged to have assaulted a 20-year-old South African woman who was at a Sandton Hotel with her sons.

Gabriella Engles was believed to be visiting Bellarmine and Robert Mugabe Jnr when Grace allegedly attacked her with an electric cable at the upmarket hotel.

However, Zanu-PF’s Twitter account accused Engles of having been the aggressor, saying she had attacked Grace Mugabe. - Additional reporting by Thulani Mbele.

Sowetan