Of the Mugabes’ legacy of violence, impunity, and toxic entitlement

The continued allegations of violence surrounding the former first family expose a deep-seated pathology of entitlement that continues to plague Zimbabwe.

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This toxic arrogance was most recently highlighted by a savage confrontation with artisanal miners in Mazowe.

When Grace Mugabe reportedly orchestrates an attack and boldly declares herself “the Queen” during the assault, it reveals a problematic self-perception that goes far beyond mere political arrogance.

This is a family that does not merely view itself as above the law, but as inherently superior to the very citizens they once claimed to serve.

Such behavior is not an isolated outburst of temper; it is the natural consequence of decades of unchecked power and a chilling reminder of the toxic legacy left behind by the late former president Robert Mugabe.

For nearly 40 years, the Mugabe regime ruled Zimbabwe through a culture of fear, state-sponsored violence, and institutionalized lawlessness.

From the Gukurahundi massacres of the 1980s to the brutal electoral violence of 2008, the message from the top was always clear: power belongs to those who wield the loudest threats and the heaviest clubs, and the law is merely a tool to punish enemies, never a standard to bind the rulers.

This violent foundation set by the parents has inevitably shaped, influenced, and corrupted their children.

Raised in an environment where accountability was a foreign concept, the offspring of the former first family have repeatedly made headlines for public brawls and chaotic disruptions both within Zimbabwe and abroad.

They have firmly internalized the dangerous belief that their surname grants them a lifetime exemption from legal restraint.

This inherited arrogance has repeatedly spilled across our borders, creating recurring diplomatic and legal nightmares in South Africa.

The family’s pattern of cross-border lawlessness was famously highlighted by Grace Mugabe’s alleged extension cord assault on Gabriella Engels in 2017, but the younger generation has continued to push these boundaries.

Despite the South African courts later stripping away the farcical diplomatic immunity she used to flee the country, she remains safely ensconced in Zimbabwe, shielded from extradition by a protective political establishment.

This ongoing evasion of justice ensures that nearly a decade later, her victim still has no closure, perfectly illustrating how political patronage renders these criminal acts entirely consequence-free.

​Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe’s recent high-profile criminal case in Johannesburg perfectly illustrates this trajectory.

He was originally arrested for attempted murder after a 23-year-old gardener was shot twice in the back at his luxury Hyde Park residence.

However, he managed to escape prison time through a controversial plea agreement in April 2026, pleading guilty only to pointing an object resembling a firearm and violating immigration laws.

Walking away with just a R600 000 fine and a deportation order, his escape from justice reinforces the sickening reality that for the elite, accountability can simply be bought.

The implications of this continued impunity are devastating for the moral and legal fabric of Zimbabwe.

When ordinary citizens witness individuals like Grace Mugabe and Chatunga Mugabe committing acts of violence with total disregard for law enforcement, it erodes public trust in the state.

It sends a damaging signal that there are two separate tiers of citizenship in Zimbabwe: one for the well-connected elite who can assault, exploit, and plunder at will, and another for the impoverished majority who are crushed by the full weight of the law for minor infractions.

This double standard perpetuates a dangerous cycle.

If the state refuses to protect vulnerable artisanal miners at Smithfield farm in Mazowe from the whims of a vengeful former ruling family, it invites anarchy, as people lose faith in formal justice and may eventually seek to defend themselves.

This persistent culture of impunity thrives because our state institutions have historically chosen political appeasement over constitutional duty.

True justice cannot be selective.

The ongoing tolerance of lawlessness from the former first family suggests that the ghost of institutional capture still lingers within our justice system.

True democratic progress cannot be measured solely by changes in political leadership; it must be demonstrated by the uniform application of the law.

A nation that coddles its former oppressors out of political sentimentality or fear remains shackled to the very tyranny it claims to have moved past.

It is time for this cycle of impunity to be decisively broken through the strict implementation of Zimbabwe laws without fear or favor.

The police, the National Prosecuting Authority, and our courts must treat these allegations of violence with the gravity they deserve, completely stripped of any regard for the suspects’ historical status.

No one, regardless of their family lineage or past political titles, possesses a divine right to terrorize citizens.

Grace Mugabe is not a queen, her children are not royalty, and the citizens of Zimbabwe are not subjects to be trampled upon.

If Zimbabwe is to truly transform into a modern constitutional democracy based on accountability and the rule of law, the state must demonstrate that the era of dynastic untouchability is permanently over.

Justice must be served, equality before the law must be vindicated, and the former first family must be made to understand that in Zimbabwe, the law is the only sovereign.

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