By Mary Taruvinga 

A WOMAN who was by two Chinese nationals after they mistook her for a robber will never be able to walk again because of the injuries she suffered.

Kudzai Nduku has developed a condition called drop foot and will be wheel chair-bound for the rest of her life.

She narrated her ordeal before Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya when the trial of Luo Tingpen, 27 and Li Yize, 27, commenced last Thursday.

Nduku uncontrollably broke down in tears while explaining how the incident has changed her life physically and socially.

Proceedings had to be adjourned to allow her to calm down.

She told court Tingpen was the one who shot her on the left hip, adding that the bullet penetrated through her privates and pierced through her right thigh.

“I’m still traumatised, to think that a person shoots you for no reason, and you look at each other in the eye,” she said.

“I asked him why he shot me, and I asked him to help me. I was bleeding profusely via the entry and exit wound as well as through my privates but still he looked away and fled from the scene.

“It was a traumatic experience for me and I’m still traumatised. A neurosurgeon said one of the major veins was damaged and that I may never walk again.

“His explanation to my understanding meant that I have a permanent injury and chances that I walk again are limited.”

Nduku said her privates had to be stitched together as she was bleeding, adding she is now waiting for the wounds to heal so she can visit a gynaecologist.

She is a beauty therapist and runs a beauty parlour and a flea market but has since stopped working as result of the injuries.

Nduku was caught in a crossfire on February 20 this year.

She was in the company of a friend Kevin Guzah driving in their vehicle when they suddenly heard gunshots at a certain house in Belgravia.

They made a U-turn fearing for their lives, but the accused followed them and shot them at Zuva Service station in Belgravia thinking they were robbers.

Upon realising they shot wrong people the Chinese nationals who are being charged together with one Gamuchirai Nigel Zuze fled from the scene without helping Nduku and Guzah.

According to Nduku, fuel attendants and customers who were buying in KFC did not come to her rescue as they feared for their lives.

However, the accused trio deny the charges.

Tingpen said he never went to the service station on the day in question while Yize insists that when he pursued Guzah he found him already injured.

For his part Zuze told court that he only had five rounds on the day in question and they were finished while exchanging fire with armed robbers when they were still at the site of the robbery.

Nduku however said if a CCTV footage from the garage was to be produced in court, Tingpen would appear in the video.

She told court that Yize and Zuze were the ones who chased Guzah and she heard random gunshots but cannot tell who exactly shot her friend.

According to the State, Guzah was also shot in the leg and assaulted by the trio.

Meanwhile Tingpen and Yizealso have a pending case of unlawful discharge of firearms at Bindura magistrates court.

Prosecutors said they accused Guzah of having robbed their client earlier that day before they attacked him and shot him twice.

However, the suspect who had robbed their client Thompson Runyowa was arrested on the same day and has since appeared in court facing robbery charges.

Runyowa allegedly robbed one of the Chinese identified as Long of $8 300 while on his way from Chiredzi.

The suspects drove to Long’s place of residence in Belgravia where they ransacked his house and stole $3 000.

Runyowa and his accomplices fled from the scene after exchanging gunshots with Long’s security guards who reacted to the scene.

They abandoned their gate away vehicle and Runyowa was the only one who was apprehended at the scene of the crime.

Guzah and his girlfriend got in crossfire when the security guards were chasing Runyowa’s accomplices.