Online Reporter
Dalyn Chigwizura
CUSTOMERS at a Supermarket in Tshabalala were left clutching their groceries and jaws after a trivial payment squabble turned into a full blown tooth launch.
Kudzai Bamu (37) of Tshabalala, appeared before Western Commonage magistrate Jeconia Prince Ncube after blowing up a simple method of payment misunderstanding into a boxing demo that sent a till operator’s tooth airborne. Ironically, his surname sounds like a fitting onomatopoeic word for brutal beating.
According to prosecutor Tafara Dzimbanhete, the “movie” kicked off around 6PM on 10 May when Bamu and supermarket worker Tawanda Nyenge locked horns over how the transaction was supposed to be processed. Witnesses say the argument went from “sorry boss let me check” to “yikho manje” in a matter of seconds.
Before Nyenge could even finish explaining, Bamu allegedly peppered him with a flurry of blows.
One particularly enthusiastic fist reportedly connected with such force that Nyenge’s front tooth took off like a white missile, landing somewhere between the sweets rack and the cooking oil aisle.
Chaos erupted as customers scattered, some ducking the imaginary punches, others following the airborne tooth like spectators at a cricket match.
A police report was quickly filed and Bamu was arrested while the injured till operator was rushed to hospital for treatment and possibly a replacement for the tooth that went AWOL.
Magistrate Ncube ordered Bamu to pay a US$140 fine by 12 December or enjoy a two-month Government-sponsored holiday behind bars.
Shoppers in Tshabalala are still talking about the day a tooth travelled farther than some people’s dreams.
derick.khumalo