Dorcas Sibanda assaulted in own bar

Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
MDC-T Bulawayo Central member of the National Assembly Dorcas Sibanda was allegedly assaulted by a customer at her bar in Ntabazinduna in Matabeleland North province after she refused to give her $96 change on Saturday night.
Sibanda reportedly escaped with minor injuries and she reported the assault to police.
The regular customer, Bekezela Nkomazana went berserk and assaulted Sibanda with fists following an altercation over her money.

Sources told Chronicle yesterday that Nkomazana bought beer worth $4 and paid using a $100 bill but was told that she would get her change later and she agreed.
“When Nkomazana later approached Sibanda for her change, she was shocked when Sibanda told her that she had already given her the change,” said a source, who was at the bar when the incident occurred.

“A heated argument immediately ensued with Nkomazana demanding her money from Sibanda, who insisted that she had already given her.”
The argument, the source added, resulted in Nkomazana assaulting Sibanda, injuring her in the process.

The source said some imbibers came to Sibanda’s rescue before she quickly left the bar and made a report to the police.
“People had to intervene after realising that Sibanda was in danger. Bekezela was violent and kept on threatening Sibanda. She left the bar without getting the change but promised to come back for it,” said the source.

Sibanda confirmed that she sustained injuries following an altercation with with a patron at her bar.
She however, could not be drawn to give more details.

Matabeleland North police spokesperson, Inspector Siphiwe Makonese could not be reached for comment.
MDC-T acting Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Swithern Chirodza declined to comment on the matter and said it had nothing to do with the party.

In April last year Sibanda reportedly failed to pay her monthly rentals in Ntabazinduna where she had been operating a grocery shop, butchery and sports bar for nine months.

However, the MP accused the property owner, Sukoluhle Moyo, of refusing to reimburse the $7,400 she allegedly used to renovate the building.
In August the same year she was evicted from her offices in Bulawayo after failing to pay rentals totalling $1,427.

She reportedly used the premises for her salon business before she became an MP in 2008 and later converted the place into a Parliamentary Constituency Information Centre.

The owner of the property, H M Esat, initially sought to attach property, but when the Messenger of Court went to the premises, it was established that there was “nothing worth attaching according to court documents.