HARARE – Shots were fired after thieves broke into President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s private residence in the exclusive Hellensville neighbourhood in Harare on July 6, ZimLive can reveal.

It is the third break-in targeting the Mnangagwa family in just two weeks after similar incidents at the home of his son and deputy finance minister David Mnangagwa, and at the office of his nephew Tongai Mnangagwa, the deputy tourism minister.

At least three male individuals were seen fleeing from the property on Wheeleon Road which has a sprawling two storey mansion still under construction after police fired warning shots.

The incident happened shortly after midnight and police believe the gang was targeting construction equipment stored at the house.

Police recovered an armoured cable and a copper pipe dumped in the yard after the thieves escaped.

The house, which is being built by Chinese company Zim Nantong Construction, is still not complete after more than five years of construction.

The imposing house is situated on 25,000 square meters of prime urban land and has eight cluster houses around it at different stages of construction.

Police on Tuesday said they were investigating an apparent break-in at the office of the deputy tourism minister Tongai Mnangagwa, who is the president’s nephew.

Police said the break in by an intruder coming through the ceiling took place anytime between July 5 and July 8 on the 6th Floor of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority offices at the corner of Samora Machel and Julius Nyerere.

Police were already investigating two incidents which took place at the Borrowdale home of deputy finance minister David Mnangagwa on 23 and 25 June.

In the first incident, his iPads were found smashed in a backpack left on top of the roof, while papers which were in the bag were torn up. The intruder also cut out the headrest from his Range Rover parked in the garage and stole the deputy minister’s Berreta pistol and 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Just two days later, police were called back to the house after three bullets were left outside the deputy minister’s bedroom door, and two others dropped on the lawn outside.

On June 28, a fire broke out at the house and took hours to put out.

No arrests have been made in all the incidents.

The break-ins will raise speculation that they are targeted political manoeuvres in Zanu PF’s internecine succession battles, but police have so far established no link between them, law enforcement sources told ZimLive.