Popular gospel artiste Amos Mahendere was yesterday ordered to do 210 hours of community service by a Chitungwiza magistrate after he was found guilty of threatening a commuter omnibus driver with a gun.
Magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa had sentenced Mahendere (36) to eight months in prison for the offence committed in May. But she suspended two months of the sentence on condition that the musician does not commit a similar offence.
The remaining six months were further suspended on condition he performs 210 hours of community service at the District Development Fund offices in Makoni within 15 weeks.
The musician-cum–producer was also facing assault charges where he was jointly charged with Washington Tapfumaneyi (27) and Moses Chonse (26) and they were ordered to pay a $100 fine each.
Mugwagwa blasted Mahendere’s conduct in public.
“It is not proper for one to produce a gun in public because it is very disturbing and in this case the result could have been something else,” the magistrate said.
On May 13 in Unit G Extension, Chitungwiza, Chonse and Tapfumaneyi boarded Ignatius Nyika’s kombi before a misunderstanding with the conductor arose over the volume from the radio.
The two exchanged harsh words, prompting Nyika to disembark from the bus to restrain his conductor. When Chonse and Tapfumaneyi saw Nyika coming, they thought he intended to fight them and they pushed the conductor aside and charged towards him.
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Mahendere arrived at the scene armed with a pistol and pointed the weapon at Nyika’s chest and hit him with the gun’s butt three times on the face.
After the assault, Mahendere dragged Nyika into his bus and removed the keys from the ignition and punched him in the face. Nyika reported the case to the police, leading to Mahendere’s arrest.
