Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura
A SIMPLE “hello” nearly turned deadly at Nyahugwe Sports Bar in Bulawayo after six machete-wielding men unleashed a brutal assault on a fellow patron after he greeted a woman in their circle!
Now dubbed the “Bar Greeting Gang,” 3 Brian Ncube (24), Busiswa Mpofu (40), Nqobezweni Nyathi (22), Phikelela Kabu (25), and Calvin Ndlovu (20), have been granted bail after a spine-chilling court appearance before Magistrate Sibongile Marondedze.
According to prosecutor Christina Manyika, in the early hours of 10 May, Vincent Murove greeted a woman seated with the gang at the Mabutweni-based sports bar. That innocent gesture allegedly sparked a bloodbath.
“They attacked Murove with empty beer bottles, booted feet, and even a machete — aiming for the head and body like he was a punching bag,” said Manyika.
Bar stools flew, blood flowed, and panic gripped the bar as patrons scattered while Murove was left battered and bleeding.
During the bail hearing, the investigating officer, Brian Mahlami, warned the court that the six are fly-by-night artisanal miners who rarely stay in one place and had provided sketchy addresses.
“These guys are hard to pin down,” Mahlami warned. “They gave us their relatives’ addresses and vanished for days. Mabutweni residents are still shaken, they fear these men.”
But with no prior convictions and no passports to flee, the court wasn’t convinced they posed a serious flight risk.
Magistrate Marondedze granted each of the accused US$50 bail, ordered them to reside at the given addresses, report weekly to Westcom Police, and strictly avoid witnesses.
The wild bunch is due back in court on 3 June, and if convicted, they could face serious jail time for the savage, machete-fuelled bar ambush.
From a bar greeting to a bloodletting, did toxic masculinity meet machete justice? B-Metro will be watching every swing and strike as the trial unfolds!
