Police investigate attempted murder as victim remains in critical condition.

The youngest son of former Zimbabwean ruler Robert Mugabe was remanded in police custody on Thursday after a gardener was shot at his home in South Africa, according to media reports.

Police said they were investigating a case of attempted murder following the shooting in a wealthy suburb north of Johannesburg. Two men were taken in for questioning.

While police declined to identify the suspects, several South African media outlets reported that one of them was Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, 29.

Images shared by IOL News on social media showed Mugabe in handcuffs being escorted by police officers.

He is the youngest son of Robert Mugabe, the former Zimbabwean president who was removed from power in a 2017 military takeover after 37 years in office.

Police said the gardener was in critical condition.

“The motive of the shooting is unknown at this stage and police investigations are underway,” police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said.

Robert Mugabe’s two sons with Grace Mugabe, Robert Jr and Bellarmine, have at times lived in Johannesburg, where they have developed a reputation for partying.

In 2019, Grace Mugabe was accused of attacking an employee at the family home in Zimbabwe with a shoe in 2017.

Nicknamed Gucci Grace for her lavish lifestyle, she was also accused of assaulting a model with a power cable in Johannesburg that same year.

Robert Jr, 33, appeared in a Harare court in October last year on a charge of possessing cannabis, which he denies.