Online Reporter
Moreblessing Ncube
A BULAWAYO woman who cheated death by a whisker after a brutal bush attack came face to face with her alleged tormentor in court, sparking high drama and raw emotion.
Sydney Ncube (65) of Mzilikazi appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sibonginkosi Mnkandla facing a violent assault charge after allegedly battering Patience Sabuwa and throwing her into a deep pit behind Amakhosi Cultural Centre.
Ncube, who pleaded not guilty, was remanded in custody to 20 November.
Prosecutor Tsungai Charmaine Mutapi Saunyama told the court the bizarre attack occurred on 12 October 2025 at around 1AM. Ncube allegedly dragged Sabuwa into a bushy area and demanded valuables.
He is accused of unleashing a savage attack using fists, stones, sticks and even bricks, leaving the woman naked, unconscious and covered in deep cuts.
A passerby stumbled on the injured woman around 7.30AM and rushed her to hospital before reporting the horror to Mzilikazi Police Station.
When Sabuwa took the stand, the gallery gasped. Her eyes were swollen shut, her neck strapped and her voice strained with pain.
She told the court she had just left Big Bhawa after Abigirl Mabuza’s show when two men ambushed her. They demanded money and a phone she did not have, then allegedly beat her senseless.
“One of them wanted to let me go, but Sydney refused,” she said.
She told the court Ncube dragged her for about 10 metres before pelting her with bricks and a metal bar on the head, face and neck. When she tried to escape, she fell into a deep pit and blacked out.
She later woke up at Mpilo Central Hospital. Days after her discharge, she spotted Ncube at Madlodlo Bar and immediately recognised him.
The attack, she said, has left her living in constant fear, unable to work as a vendor.
A witness, Makheli Masuku, testified he found Ncube in the bush that morning. Ncube allegedly pointed out the naked woman lying helpless in the grass and claimed he had simply been “passing by.”
Masuku said he insisted they report the matter to Mzilikazi Police Station.
Tensions boiled over when a relative in the gallery shouted that if the court freed Ncube, she would “take justice into her own hands.”
The case continues.
