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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau

A 27-YEAR-OLD man from Stakeng Village in Beitbridge has been sentenced to five years in prison for attacking a 17-year-old boy who had intervened to stop him from fighting another villager.

Khulekahani Dube was arrested after he assaulted the teenager at Malibeng Business Centre in February this year, striking him on the head with a tyre lever and causing near-fatal injuries.

Dube was convicted of attempted murder when he appeared before Beitbridge Regional Magistrate Ms Charity Maphosa on Thursday. The magistrate sentenced him to five years in jail but conditionally set aside two and a half years of the sentence, leaving Dube with an effective prison term of two and a half years.

Prosecutor Mr Willborught Muleya outlined the events leading to the attack. On February 7, Dube arrived at Malibeng Business Centre with the teenager’s friend over an undisclosed issue. The confrontation escalated into a fistfight, which the teenager attempted to stop.

After the altercation, the other man left the scene, leaving the complainant and Dube at the business centre. Later that day, as the teenager was walking home, Dube followed him and attacked him with a tyre lever as punishment for intervening in the fight.

Following the assault, Dube fled the scene. The victim, who sustained three deep cuts to his head, was rushed to the hospital by his uncle, who subsequently reported the incident to the police. This led to Dube’s arrest.