Cop cheats death during scuffle with imbiber

He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was remanded to September 20.

A 43-YEAR-OLD man from Fairbridge, Bulawayo, has appeared in court for allegedly attempting to kill a police officer who had ordered the closure of a beer outlet for breach of its operating regulations.

Dumisani Lindani Mpofu was brought before Bulawayo regional magistrate Matthew Mutiro on Wednesday to answer to a charge of attempted murder.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was remanded to September 20.

It is the State’s case that Mpofu intentionally attempted to kill Lungelo Sibanda (28) a police officer by striking him with an axe once on the forehead.

The court heard that on April 18, Mpofu was at Juluka bottle store in Fairbridge when Sibanda was deployed to patrol the area and monitor closing times of bars and bottle stores.

It is the State’s case that when Sibanda arrived at Juluka bottle store, he ordered for the closure of the bottle store for operating outside the set timetable.

The court heard that Mpofu approached Sibanda and allegedly started insulting him over why he ordered for the bottle store to be closed.

It is alleged that Mpofu pulled out an axe, which he was hiding in his trousers and struck Sibanda once on the forehead.

Sibanda sustained a laceration on the forehead and made a report to the people, leading to Mpofu's arrest.

Related Topics