HIGHLANDERS striker Gabriel Nyoni was on Saturday night attacked by two unknown assailants while waiting for transport into the city from the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) where he had been doing his assignments.
FORTUNE MBELE SPORTS REPORTER
Nyoni yesterday said he was lucky to survive with a bruise on his neck after the two men that attacked him targeted his laptop and mobile phone.
The youthful striker, a Marketing student at Nust, said his laptop was strapped on his back and he managed to put up a fight and was bruised on the neck by his laptop bag sling and fled the scene to a nearby service station where he got transport.
“I was studying at the college on Saturday night with a friend, Tinashe Manyanga, and at around 9:45pm I decided to head back to my place of residence in town. I left Tinashe behind because he was still not yet done. When I got to Gwanda Road where we wait for lifts, I saw two men approach and I thought they were going to pass by.
“Then suddenly the guys came rushing at me and shocked, I just stood still and they tried to pull away my laptop and threatened to kill me. I had in my hand a Nokia 1616 and I threw it away so that I could secure my laptop. In the scuffle my neck was slightly bruised, but I managed to free myself and bolt. I sprinted for about 300m, never looked back and got to a nearby service station where I got a lift into town,” Nyoni said.
The Bosso forward, however, said he felt it was not necessary to report the case since he was not badly injured and did not lose any valuable property.
He, however, said incidents of robbery were on the increase at the college at night as students had to study late when Internet connectivity would be relatively faster with fewer users.
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“Most of us who go there to study at night are not resident on campus and Internet accessibility is greatly improved at night. I am okay. I did not lose any valuables and I did not bother to report the case. Many cases of this nature occur,” Nyoni said. Bosso, on its official Facebook page on Sunday wished the striker recovery from the traumatic experience.
“Yesterday, we wished Gabriel Nyoni a speedy recovery and most of you were asking what happened. We can now confirm that Gabriel was attacked by unknown assailants on Saturday night on his way home from Nust. The thugs attacked him and when they were in the process of assaulting him with the intent of taking away his laptop, God gave him little room to free himself and run for his dear life. He has a bruised neck and is recovering well. Nyoni lost his phone in the process. We thank God that he is safe and continue to pray that he gets over the trauma quickly,” Bosso said.
Over a week ago, a 33-year-old man was arrested and appeared before a Bulawayo magistrate facing two counts of rape and two of robbery after he allegedly waylaid two students from Nust and robbed them of cellphones and cash.
The two separate incidents happened in December last year and April this year.
The accused was positively identified by one of the two students in a kombi who alerted other passengers, leading to his arrest.
