Robert Mugabe Jr, the son of Zimbabwe’s late former president, has been arrested in Harare after police allegedly found cannabis in his vehicle during a traffic stop.
The 33-year-old was detained on Wednesday after driving the wrong way down a one-way street in central Harare. Officers claimed they recovered two sachets of cannabis, weighing around two grams and valued at about $30, along with rolling papers and a grinder.
Authorities further linked him to a wider drug syndicate, announcing the arrest of three others said to be connected to him. From that group, police reported seizing 25 sachets of Indo-hybrid dagga and six ecstasy pills.
Mugabe Jr’s lawyer denied the allegations, arguing that the cannabis belonged to other passengers and accusing police of exaggerating the evidence.
He appeared before the Harare Magistrate’s Court dressed casually in joggers and a red cap. He was not handcuffed and was seen on his phone as he entered. His bail application was initially delayed, leaving him in custody for two nights before he was released on bail of $300.
This is not his first brush with the law. In 2023, Mugabe Jr faced charges of damaging property and spitting on a police officer during a party, a case later resolved out of court. His younger brother, Chatunga, has also attracted controversy over run-ins with police.
Mugabe Jr, who reconciled with the ruling Zanu-PF party in 2022, is the eldest son of Robert Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe from independence in 1980 until his ouster in 2017. Mugabe died two years later, in 2019.
