Man in court for attempted murder of police officer over bar closure

A 43-year-old man from Fairbridge, Bulawayo, appeared in court on Wednesday facing charges of attempted murder after allegedly striking a police officer with an axe. The accused, Dumisani Lindani Mpofu, was brought before Bulawayo regional magistrate Matthew Mutiro, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was remanded to September 20 for trial.

According to the State's case, Mpofu is accused of attempting to kill police officer Lungelo Sibanda (28) by striking him once on the forehead with an axe during a dispute over the closure of a local beer outlet.

The incident occurred on April 18 at Juluka bottle store in Fairbridge, where Sibanda was patrolling to monitor the enforcement of operating regulations for bars and bottle stores. Upon arriving at Juluka, Sibanda ordered the closure of the establishment for violating the set operating hours. Mpofu, reportedly angered by the closure order, approached Sibanda and began insulting him before allegedly pulling out an axe hidden in his trousers and striking the officer.

Sibanda sustained a laceration on his forehead and later reported the incident, leading to Mpofu's arrest. The case will resume on September 20.