Online Reporter
Moreblessing Ncube
WHAT lengths would you go to for a smoke?
For 26-year-old Mbusi Tshuma, the answer is clear; all the way to pepper-spraying someone in broad daylight.
Tshuma was arrested on 2 May after unleashing a can of pepper spray on a fellow man over a measly cigarette.
He appeared before Tredgold Magistrate Mr Maxwell Ncube, facing assault charges and openly admitted that, yes, he went full chemical warfare because someone wouldn’t share a smoke.
For craving one pull of the R1 cigarette, Tshuma was fined US$300 or six months behind bars.
According to Prosecutor Mehluli Ndlovu, Tshuma assaulted Force Mlalaza by spraying him in the face with pepper spray, intentionally and unlawfully causing pain and injury.
The court heard that it all started when Tshuma approached Mlalaza, who had just lit a cigarette. Tshuma asked for a puff, but Mlalaza wasn’t in the mood to share.
That rejection triggered Tshuma, who fished out a can of pepper spray from his pocket and aimed it straight into Mlalaza’s eyes.
Stunned and temporarily blinded, Mlalaza screamed for help as the irritant burned through his eyes and face. Onlookers rushed in to assist and managed to pin down Tshuma before things got worse.
Appearing calm but unrepentant in court, Tshuma claimed he just couldn’t understand why Mlalaza refused to share something so small.
“I just wanted a puff. That’s all. He was being stingy,” he said.
Now, Tshuma faces legal consequences far bigger than the tiny cigarette he so desperately wanted. He was remanded out of custody pending sentencing.
All this drama over a single stick? Talk about a smoke that backfired badly.
Bongani Ndlovu