The eldest son of Robert Mugabe, the late ruler of Zimbabwe, has been arrested for allegedly causing damage worth $12,000 (R217 500) to cars and other property at a party in an upmarket neighbourhood of Harare over the weekend.
The eldest son of Robert Mugabe, the late authoritarian ruler of Zimbabwe, has been arrested for allegedly causing damage worth $12,000 (£10,000) to cars and other property at a party in an upmarket neighbourhood of Harare over the weekend.
Robert Mugabe Jr, 31, spent a night in a local police station and then briefly appeared at a court in Harare, the capital, on Monday.
Mugabe was not held after the hearing but his lawyer, Ashiel Mugiya, said h still faced charges and the two parties were negotiating an out-of-court settlement. The damaged property is believed to belong to a friend.
“No, charges were not withdrawn. The state decided to give parties the opportunity to negotiate,” Mugiya said.
Mugabe has been the subject of multiple news reports of partying and lavish spending. In one incident, he watched as his younger brother poured a £200 bottle of champagne over a luxury watch to prove it was waterproof.
In 2017, his mother, Grace, his father’s second wife, was accused of attacking a 20-year-old South African model who she found with her son after a night out at a hotel in Johannesburg’s upmarket Sandton district.
Last year, Mugabe Jr described himself as a basketball player, “architect, gym fanatic”. “I hustle and I enjoy socialising with people. I keep it simple,” he told an interviewer.
He also hit the headlines when he appeared to endorse Emmerson Mnangagwa, the man who headed the military takeover that led to his father’s fall from power in 2017 and who is now the leader of Zimbabwe. Before his death in 2019, Mugabe Sr described Mnangagwa, his former deputy, as among his “tormentors”.
The allegations relate to a party attended by Mugabe Jnr in an upmarket area of the capital, Harare, over the weekend, reports Zimbabwean news site ZimLive.com.
It pictured Mugabe Jnr walking to Harare Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Mugabe Jnr denies the charges of malicious damage to property and says he is innocent.
His lawyer Ashiel Mugiya told reporters outside court the charges had not been dropped and the two parties were negotiating an out-of-court settlement, according to ZimLive.com.
Mugabe Jnr will be summoned back to court if these negotiations fail, Mr Mugiya said. President Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former right-hand man, replaced him.
Mugabe led the fight against white-minority rule in Zimbabwe, then known by its British colonial name of Rhodesia.
A deeply divisive figure, to some he was a revolutionary who led Zimbabwe to independence.
However, during his presidency, Mugabe was accused of economic mismanagement and a range of human rights abuses, including using violence to win elections and denying food aid to areas supporting the opposition.
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