A Bulawayo man allegedly assaulted a police officer and broke his leg at a roadblock.
Mbonisi Dube, 30, of Bulawayo’s Thorngrove suburb allegedly charged at Mbongeni Ndlovu, a police officer, at a roadblock along Luveve Road on Sunday at about 11PM.
The officer had stopped Dube and asked to search his vehicle.
Dube allegedly refused to let the officer search the car.
He went wild and suddenly slapped the officer and thereafter delivered a flurry of punches that forced Ndlovu to retreat.
Other motorists watched in shock.
Dube yesterday appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sibongile Msipa-Marondedze facing a charge of assaulting a police officer.
He was not asked to plead and was remanded in custody to February 24.
Ndlovu, who hobbled into the court with the aid of crutches as he had a plaster on his leg, told the court that Dube seemed angered by his request to search the vehicle.
“We were conducting a stop and search operation along Luveve road near Happy Valley when I was assaulted by Dube. I was in police uniform,” said Ndlovu.
Prosecuting Taurayi Hondoyemoto told the court that on February 8,this year at around 11PM Ndlovu and other police officers were on a stop and search operation along Luveve road near Happy Valley when Dube and his friends approached the road block.
“When he was stopped, Dube demanded to know the reasons for the search,” said Hondoyemoto.
He said Dube refused to cooperate with the officer even after Ndlovu explained that he was doing his job and would be done in no time.
Dube, said Hondoyemoto, tore into the officer and started slapping him while his friends watched.
He said Ndlovu managed to overpower Dube and tried to handcuff him.
Hondoyemoto told the court Dube then pushed Ndlovu to the ground where he landed on his right knee and sustained a serious injury.
Ndlovu was taken to hospital where he received treatment.
