adminNokusa Masuku Court Reporter
A KOMBI driver and his conductor appeared in court yesterday for assaulting and kidnapping a police officer in a bid to evade arrest. Aaron Gudyanga, 27 and the conductor Alone Gudyanga, 21, appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Tancy Dube facing assault and kidnap charges. They were not asked to plead and were remanded out of custody to January 26.
Prosecuting, Kenneth Shava told the court that Aaron and Alone kidnapped Tawanda Mazhambe near Old Pumula shopping centre.
He said the two further assaulted another police officer who was trying to rescue Mazhambe.
“Aaron was driving with passengers to Pumula when he was hit by another vehicle on the right view mirror. When Mazhambe got out of the kombi to attend to the scene, Aaron tipped the driver of the other vehicle which had hit his to drive away since his vehicle allegedly sustained minor damages,” said Shava. The court heard that Mazhambe rushed into Aaron’s kombi and instructed him to drive to the police station for failing to stop after an accident, but he refused.
He eventually stopped at Old Pumula shopping Centre for some passengers to disembark.
After dropping off the passengers, he drove towards the police station but on the way threatened to hit Mazhambe and dump him. The kombi driver drove past the police station and Mazhambe screamed for help.
A police constable, Luke Mafunda, followed the kombi and got inside after he managed to open its door. Aaron and Alone then drove back to the police station but refused to get inside arguing that they could not be arrested.
The pair tried to drag Mafunda out of the vehicle and assaulted him.
They were later arrested by other police officers from the station.
Online Reporter