A HARARE man has been granted a peace order against space barons from Mbare who assaulted and threatened to kill him for failing to pay vending fees.
Luckmore Muchena told Harare magistrate Sharon Mashavira that he was attacked by Stan Desmond, Lucky Saidu, Pride Makwava, Tatenda Desmond and Tariro Takura after he failed to pay fees for the vending space they allocated to him in Mbare.
“They came to my vending table claiming that I owed them money for the table that I was using,” Muchena said.
“They started being violent towards me and they attacked me and left me with severe head injuries. They also threatened to kill me.”
The respondents denied the allegations.
They said the area in which the applicant was operating from belonged to them.
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“I never attacked him, he is the one who threatened me and my friends with death when we went to ask for the money for rent,” Saidu told the court.
He told the court that Muchena was supposed to pay the space barons monthly vending fees.
“He should just pay up if he wants to continue using the table or else he moves away and we find someone else who is able to pay ,” he said.
Mashavira granted Muchena his application for a peace order.
He ordered the respondents men to stop harassing the applicant and threatening him with death.
Reports have shown that space barons were linked to Zanu PF.
They have been known for taking over trading areas and employing Zanu PF youths to use violent methods to collect fees from stall owners.