Trio stab taxi driver

THREE men from Hope Fountain near Bulawayo allegedly beat and stabbed a taxi driver after he tried to intervene in a misunderstanding that was brewing among them.

Brighton Mlala (19), Ishmael Ngoma (18) and Khalipani Mlala (22) attacked Mr Innocent Tshuma (28) after he tried to quell the argument. The subject of the argument was not mentioned in court.

The trio was not asked to plead when they appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Adelaide Mbeure facing assault charges.

Ms Mbeure remanded them out of custody to August 1 on their own cognisance.

Prosecuting, Mr Nkatazo Dlodlo told the court that on July 17 at around 2AM at Skittle Inn bar located at the corner of Herbert Chitepo and 13th Avenue, the trio hired Mr Tshuma to ferry them to Hope Fountain.

"The three accused persons started having an altercation before they reached their intended destination. Mr Tshuma intervened intending to settle the misunderstanding but the trio turned against him," he said.

"They assaulted Mr Tshuma all over the body. One of the accused persons then stabbed Mr Tshuma once on the little finger with a knife."

Mr Tshuma was referred to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) for treatment and a medical report may be produced in court.