…Mandebvu files attempted murder charges against Maboke
By Courage Dutiro
In a dramatic turn of events, Zanu PF Masvingo Provincial Youth leader Delight Mandebvu, who was involved in a road rage incident on the night of March 2, 2024, with former Masvingo City Council Mayor Collen Maboke recently filed attempted murder charges alleging he was hit by the latter’s vehicle, not by any other vehicle as had been reported.
Mandebvu who is said to be facing three counts of assault and one of negligent driving was admitted at Masvingo Provincial Hospital after suffering a broken leg.
After the incident, Maboke who contested in the August 23, 2023 elections as an independent candidate for Masvingo Urban constituency said on a fateful night their vehicles which were going in different directions sideswiped before the vehicle Mandebvu was traveling in made a U-turn, blocked Maboke’s car which was being driven by his wife, disembarked and started assaulting the former mayor, his wife as well as another passenger who was in the car.
However, giving his side of the story after 2 months of recovering from leg injuries, Mandebvu on May 2, 2024, told TellZim News that on the fateful night, they were on their way back from a meeting in Masvingo, when he pulled over at a lay-by near Chicken Shack food outlet to make some private calls.
“I was driving from Masvingo where we had a meeting, with my team. As we were heading towards Chicken Shack, I stopped at a lay-by near the food outlet. I alighted from the car to make some calls.
“While I was on the phone, my team complained that they were hungry since we had left Masvingo without eating. I gave them money to get food and told them I would follow or they could pick me up when they were done,” said Mandebvu.
He went on to say, Maboke who was on his way from Nyika, with a three-car convoy spotted his car turning into the food outlet. They stormed the car, expecting to find him, but only saw his team inside, smashed the rearview mirror, and fled the scene.
“Maboke was driving from Nyika, he had a convoy of three cars. When they saw my car turning to the food outlet, they blocked it. They opened the doors of my car and saw that I wasn’t there. They then took the car keys, broke the rearview mirror and left. While all this happened, I was still at the lay-by making calls,” said Mandebvu.
He also said that as the Mabokes continued their journey, they saw him still at the lay-by and stopped and Maboke tried to cross the road towards him on foot but went back in the car reversed towards him and he was hit in the process.
“After the brawl with my team, they spotted me and stopped, reversed and Maboke got out of the vehicle, which his wife was driving. He tried to cross the road to where I was. I then told him that I was on a call. He returned to the car; they reversed again and I was hit in the process after which I fell unconscious,” Mandebvu said.
Mandebvu further said a Mercedes-Benz driven by a teacher from Mutendi High School arrived at the scene and stopped to help but was attacked by Maboke and team before they sped away.
He also said when they heard that he had been taken to a clinic in Nyika, Maboke and his group followed him there and became violent.
“The team I was with in the car called my wife to inform her about what had happened. After they heard I was taken to a clinic in Nyika, Maboke and his companions followed me there. At the clinic, they assaulted my wife after she queried them about what had happened.
“They even assaulted the nurse on duty and my mother, who had arrived after my wife called her and all this information was recorded at the police station near the clinic in Nyika growth point,” Mandebvu said.
Mandebvu is set to appear in court next week for assault and negligent driving.
Maboke however has a different version of the incident, in which he said that after their vehicles sideswapped, Mandebvu and his companions assaulted him, and during the brawl, a car approached the scene but failed to brake on time before it overturned. Yet another car also approached the scene, failed to brake, and hit Mandebvu who was reportedly in the middle of the road, seriously injuring him in the process.
“I was coming from my rural home in Bikita with my family, my wife was driving while I slept. My wife told me that around the Mbungo area, we met another vehicle that was driving towards Nyika growth point and we sideswiped. After that, the vehicle that we had sideswiped within which Mandebvu was in made a U-turn, followed us and blocked the road. Mandebvu and the other occupants from his car then came to us and started assaulting my wife who was in the driver’s seat,” Maboke said.
He further said during the commotion, he was woken up after being hit by a bottle on his face.
“As I was trying to understand what had happened I was hit by a bottle on my face. At that moment a third vehicle arrived at the scene and tried to brake but overturned. As we were still talking a fourth vehicle which was travelling behind the third one arrived, failed to brake, and hit Mandebvu,” said Maboke.
He also said he narrowly avoided the impact by jumping away, escaping the accident by a whisker.
“We could have been hit together but I managed to jump from where I was standing,” he said.
Maboke said he sustained teeth and mouth injuries while his wife also sustained some significant injuries.
