JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A son of former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe was arrested in South Africa along with another man on Thursday over the shooting of a man at a house in Johannesburg, police and a family lawyer said.
Lawyer Ashley Mugiya told The Associated Press that Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe was one of two men detained and taken in for questioning. Police said both were later placed under arrest and would face charges of attempted murder.
Mugabe is the youngest son of Zimbabwe’s former leader, who died in 2019, and his second wife, Grace Mugabe.
South African national broadcaster SABC said the shooting occurred at the younger Mugabe’s home in a plush Johannesburg suburb and that he was seen in handcuffs in the driveway after police arrived.
South African police said that an employee at the house had sustained a single gunshot wound and was in a critical condition, though it wasn’t clear how many shots in total were fired.
Police did not name the two men who were arrested, though South African police typically decline to name suspects until they have appeared in court and been formally charged.
Police identified the person who was shot as the gardener at the home and said there had been an “altercation,” though they said the motive was still unclear.
Police spokesperson Col. Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi told reporters from the scene of the shooting that the two suspects had been uncooperative when police arrived.
“They have not told us where the gun is,” Nevhuhulwi said. “We cannot definitely say who shot.”
Mugiya, a lawyer based in Zimbabwe, said lawyers in South Africa would represent Mugabe in the case.
Robert Mugabe led Zimbabwe for 37 years before he was deposed in a coup in 2017. He died two years later in Singapore at the age of 95.
The Mugabe family has been embroiled in several criminal cases over the years.
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe’s older brother, Robert Mugabe Jr., was fined $300 last year after admitting to possession of marijuana in Zimbabwe.
Grace Mugabe was accused of assaulting a model by beating her with an electrical cord in the presence of her sons at a luxury Johannesburg hotel in 2017. She was Zimbabwe’s first lady at the time and was initially ordered to appear in court before later being granted diplomatic immunity.
Mutsaka reported from Harare, Zimbabwe.
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
FILE - Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's son Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, center, is seen with his brother Robert Mugabe Junior accompanying their father's casket to his official residence in the capital Harare, Zimbabwe Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting that nine members of the body have agreed to pledge $7 billion toward a Gaza relief package and that five countries have agreed to deploy troops to take part in an international stabilization force to the war-battered Palestinian territory.
Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have pledged to send troops for Gaza stabilization force, while Egypt and Jordan have committed to train police for the efforts.
Troops will initially be deployed to Rafah, a major population center where the U.S. administration hopes to first focus reconstruction efforts.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait are the countries that are making pledges, Trump said.
“Every dollar spent is an investment in stability and the hope of new and harmonious (region),” said Trump in thanking the donors. He added, “The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built right here in this room."
The dollars pledged, while significant, represents a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war.
Trump also announced the U.S. was pledging $10 billion for the Board of Peace, but didn’t specify what the money will be used for.
Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, the leader of the newly-created International Stabilization Force said the plans call for 12,000 police and 20,000 soldiers for Gaza.
“With these first steps, we help bring the security that Gaza needs for a future of prosperity and enduring peace,” Jeffers said.
The board was initiated as part of Trump's 20-point peace plan to end the conflict in Gaza. But since the October ceasefire, Trump's vision for the board has morphed and he wants it to have an even more ambitious remit — one that will not only complete the Herculean task of bringing lasting peace between Israel and Hamas but will also help resolve conflicts around the globe.
But the Gaza ceasefire deal remains fragile and Trump's expanded vision for it has triggered fears the U.S. president is looking to create a rival to the United Nations.
Trump, pushing back against the criticism, said the creation of his board would help make the U.N. viable in the future.
“Someday I won’t be here. The United Nations will be,” Trump said. “I think it is going to be much stronger, and the Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly.”
Most countries sent high-level officials, but a few leaders—including Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Argentine President Javier Milei, and Hungarian President Viktor Orbán—traveled to Washington for the gathering.
More than 40 countries and the European Union confirmed they were sending officials to Thursday’s meeting. Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are among more than a dozen countries that have not joined the board but are taking part as observers.
“Almost everybody’s accepted, and the ones that haven’t, will be," Trump predicted. "And some are playing a little cute -- it doesn’t work. You can’t play cute with me.”
The U.N. Security Council held a high-level meeting Wednesday on the ceasefire deal and Israel’s efforts to expand control in the West Bank. The U.N. session in New York was originally scheduled for Thursday but was moved up after Trump announced the board’s meeting for the same date and it became clear that it would complicate travel plans for diplomats planning to attend both.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters earlier this week that “at the international level it should above all be the U.N. that manages these crisis situations.” The Trump administration on Wednesday pushed back on the Vatican's concerns.
Central to Thursday's discussions was creating an armed international stabilization force to keep security and ensure the disarming of the militant Hamas group, a key demand of Israel and a cornerstone of the ceasefire deal.
Hamas has provided little confidence that it is willing to move forward on disarmament. The administration is “under no illusions on the challenges regarding demilitarization” but has been encouraged by what mediators have reported back, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We have a long ways to go,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in remarks to the gathering. “There’s a lot of work that remains that will require the contribution of every nation state represented here today.”
Associated Press writers Didi Tang in Washington, Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed reporting.
President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, attends a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Argentina's President Javier Milei is seen during a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trumpl listens during a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
FILE - President Donald Trump's name is seen on the U.S. Institute of Peace building, Dec. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
