Robert Mugabe Jr, the son of Zimbabwe’s late former President, appeared in a Harare court on Thursday facing a charge of drug possession.
The 33-year-old was arrested on Wednesday morning after allegedly driving the wrong way down a one-way street, court documents show, prompting police to search a black sling bag he was carrying.
Officers claim they found two small sachets of cannabis inside.
Police said in a statement that five other people connected to a “syndicate linked to him” were also arrested. On these individuals, authorities reportedly recovered 25 sachets of marijuana and six ecstasy pills.
Police said investigations into the matter are ongoing.
Mugabe Jr’s lawyer, Ashiel Mugiya, told the BBC that they intend to deny the charges and questioned the accuracy of the police’s claims.
“The drugs were recovered from a car that had three other occupants,” he said, noting that the police reported 2 grams of cannabis, while his team maintains only 0.02 grams were found, with a street value of about $30.
During the court appearance, Mugabe Jr was dressed casually in joggers and a red cap, speaking on his phone as he was led into the magistrates’ court.
He was surrounded by supporters but was not handcuffed. The court remanded him in custody ahead of a bail hearing scheduled for Friday.
This is not his first run-in with the law. In 2023, he was arrested over allegations of damaging property and spitting on a police officer at a party in Harare, but he was released after reaching an out-of-court settlement with the complainant, who was a friend.
Robert Mugabe, his father, died in 2019 at the age of 95, two years after being forced to resign following 37 years in power.
He led the fight against white-minority rule in what was then Rhodesia in the 1970s but was later accused of election violence and economic mismanagement. He was succeeded by his former deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Relations between Mnangagwa and the Mugabe family have been tense over the years, with accusations that the current president betrayed the late leader.
Grace Mugabe, Robert Mugabe Sr’s widow, had sought to succeed her husband but was sidelined by Mnangagwa’s supporters. Despite past tensions, Mugabe Jr has since reconciled with Mnangagwa, attending a rally in 2022 where he was publicly welcomed back into the ruling Zanu-PF party.