BY LWANDLE MTHUNZI
Three cousins from Lupane have appeared in court for murdering a policeman during a Christmas Day booze.
Lizwe Tshuma (18), Nowell Tshuma (20) and Forget Tshuma (20) of Sikhali 1 village under Chief Mabhikwa in Jotsholo were not asked to plead to the charge when they appeared before Lupane magistrate Ndumo Masuku.
They were remanded in custody until 12 January and the magistrate advised the trio to apply for bail at the High Court.
According to state prosecutors, the now deceased, Mandleni Ncube (31) of the same village, was in police uniform at Jabhiwa Business Centre in Jotsholo at night when the three took turns to assault him.
He died on admission to St Luke’s Hospital the following day.
“On the 25th of December at around 11:30pm the deceased was standing at the veranda of Saphiwa Kuhle store wearing a police uniform,”
“He was greeted by the informant Sicelo Moyo before proceeding to drink beer. “said Zandile Ndebele for the state.
It is alleged that the informant later heard noise and established that it was the deceased who was having an argument with Makhosi Mpala.
This prompted the informant to go outside the bar and observe what was happening.
It is at that moment when Lizwe approached from the western direction holding a knobkerrie and he struck the now deceased once on the head and ran away.
Ncube collapsed face down and Nowell came with a log and assaulted him once on the back before Forget struck him with an empty bottle of beer on the head and also fled.
The informant poured water on Ncube in an effort to resuscitate him, and when he saw that he was not responding, he sought help from other patrons and rushed him to Tshongogwe Hospital from where he was transferred to St Luke’s Hospital.
Ncube died on admission to St Luke’s Hospital on December 26.
A report was made to the police leading to the arrest of the trio.
A postmortem report showed that he died from subdural hematoma, cranial trauma and assault.
Meanwhile in Victoria Falls, another a Jambezi villager was remanded in custody on Friday after he allegedly hit with a stone a police officer, before strangling him after he was asked why the shop he was seated in was still operating at midnight.