Councillor
Abednico Maphosa had just stepped out of his shop at a local business centre
when all hell broke loose. What started as a demand over property turned into a
savage mob-style ambush, or in WWE Lingo; a free for all Royal Rumble.
Waiting for him
were his ex-wife Sikhanyiso Zulu (42), and her relatives Lucky Zulu (31),
Cabangani Zulu (44) and Isaac Sibanda (45), ready for war and armed with stones
and walking sticks.
As Maphosa
approached the shop’s exit, the Zulu clan pounced. They blocked his path and
demanded he hand over property, including a fridge. When he refused, the crew
allegedly went berserk.
Witnesses say
Maphosa was stoned from all directions, the rocks raining down on his body like
a hailstorm. Not done, the in-laws then whipped out walking sticks and beat him
like a thief. Shoppers watched in horror.
“He screamed
like a wounded animal,” said a shocked eyewitness. “They had no mercy. He was
curled up on the ground, bleeding. People rushed to stop the madness before
they killed him!”
Villagers had
to physically intervene to save the bruised and battered councillor, who was
left sprawled on the dusty ground, clothes torn and face bloodied.
Maphosa,
reeling from the ambush, dragged himself to the local police and filed a report
and the four suspects were arrested and dragged to court.
The drama
continued in the courtroom as the accused appeared before Bulawayo Regional
Magistrate Joseph Mabeza, last Tuesday. They were remanded out of custody to 29
May when the trial will kick off and more fireworks are expected.
Sources close
to the incident say the brawl was rooted in a bitter post-divorce property
wrangle. But villagers say the violence was shocking even by rural standards.
“These are
grown-ups, not teenagers,” said one resident. “What kind of example are they
setting? This was pure savagery. We almost thought we’d be burying our
councillor!”
Maphosa is said
to be recovering, but walking with difficulty and still nursing bruises on his
back, shoulders and legs. The fridge, the centre of the drama, remains in his
possession, for now. B Metro
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