A man was stretchered off in an ambulance following a chaotic bar room brawl reminiscent of the Wild West, in Bulawayo’s Entumbane suburb.
A sense of loyalty landed the ‘main actor’ in the fracas in court after he allegedly thrashed a man who had a dispute with his friend over alcohol.
Felix Shumba appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Matthew Mutiro facing a charge of attempted murder. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded to Thursday for continuation of trial.
In his defence, Shumba claimed that he did not use a weapon to hit the victim but used his fists, in self-defence.
“The victim was the aggressor and we were fighting. I hit him with a fist on the chest and tripped him which is why he fell on the ground. He also injured me while we were fighting, l almost died. I felt dizzy and l was badly injured but l considered that the hospital was far and l was drunk so I opted to buy medication to stabilise the pain,” said Shumba.
Allegations against Shumba are that on 18 December 2023 at around 9 pm at Mashumba shopping center, Zvinda Moyo (40) and Shumba were having a drinking spree at a bar. Moyo had a misunderstanding with the bar attendant who is Shumba’s friend.
Moyo got up to go to the rest room and Shumba hit him with a stone on the back of the head and he became unconscious. However, Shumba would not relent. Patrons scattered as he picked a brick from the ground and viciously hit the unresponsive Moyo on the left knee.
The bar emptied as Shumba grabbed a plank and remorselessly rained blows on a hapless Moyo. Moyo sustained a deep cut on the back of the head, bruises on the left knee, and a swollen body. An ambulance was called to the scene and Moyo was ferried to the hospital for medical examination. Investigations were carried out leading to Shumba’s arrest.
