Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku
BULAWAYO’S nightlife turned into a circus of shame when a naked man, who is well known in the Bulawayo social scene, two feisty sex workers and a would-be Good Samaritan clashed outside a popular night bar.
The fight spiralled into a viral video that has left tongues wagging across the city.
Corner 10th Avenue and George Silundika Street was the scene of the mini-movie that has landed Kudzi Nyakudya in court facing assault charges. His crime? Trying to intervene in a fight — and ending up accused of battering Samuel Chiwanda, who was already stripped down to his boxer shorts after a nasty altercation with the sex workers.
Nyakudya appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Itai Kagwere, where he pleaded not guilty. Through his lawyer, he painted himself as an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.
“On the day in question, my client was in a bar when he was called by patrons who said there was a fight next to his car. He rushed outside, found a naked man in his boxers fighting two women, one of whom was armed with a brick.
He told them to move away from his car. Before he could finish, police arrived — and instead of arresting the fighters, they grabbed him,” argued his defence counsel.
Nyakudya was released on US$100 bail, ordered to report twice weekly at Queenspark Police Station and warned not to interfere with witnesses. But the case has opened up a Pandora’s Box of scandal, deceit and bare-knuckle violence that has gripped the city.
According to a source close to the complainant, Chiwanda (35), “the chaos started when he tried to cheat the world’s oldest profession. “
“Samuel hired a thigh vendor for a short time. When they finished, he told her he had no money. The woman called her friend and together they beat him up, stripped him of his track pants and left him in boxers.
“That’s when Kudzi came into the mess. But when the cops arrived, Samuel quickly pointed at Kudzi and said he was the one who had bashed him,” revealed the source.
One onlooker, who recorded part of the fracas on video, laughed: “The man was being pummelled left, right and centre by two ladies of the night. He was screaming in his underwear. It was like a free Saturday night comedy show!”
But Samuel strongly denied the sex worker story, insisting he was with his wife the entire evening. “I did not hire a sex worker. I was with my wife, who is also in the video,” he told the court.
“While sitting in the bar, someone told me three men were near my car. I rushed outside and confronted them. They attacked me for no reason, smashing a bottle on my head, hitting me with an iron bar and pulling off my pants. They stole two phones and US$300. I tried to grab one of them, but his friends beat me unconscious. When police came, they arrested the wrong person.”
Samuel admitted he is indeed the half-naked man in the viral video that has been shared on WhatsApp groups. “Yes, that’s me. I don’t know who filmed it, but it was a terrible, humiliating moment,” he confessed.
The case has since divided opinion among night bar regulars. Some insist Samuel is “just a broke client who wanted a free ride,” while others believe Nyakudya is “a victim of bad timing.”
One bar patron told B-Metro: “This city doesn’t disappoint. Only in Bulawayo do you find a man in his boxers wrestling two sex workers at midnight, with another guy thrown into the mix. By Monday morning the whole drama is trending on phones. What a time to be alive!”
Another added with a laugh: “If you can’t pay, don’t play. That man thought he could trick the ladies but ended up being the entertainment.”
Meanwhile, Nyakudya insists he only wanted to protect his car and had no business with the brawl. But for now, the video tells a different story — a chaotic night of fists, insults, torn pants and scandal.
matter has been remanded for trial.
