Zimbabwean man gets 17-years jail sentence over UK machete attack

TAFADZWA Katsande, a Zimbabwean man based in the United Kingdom (UK), has been sentenced to 17 years imprisonment after he, and his gang used machetes to attack a driver.

A Leeds Crown Court said the 23-year-old victim only survived due to quick medical intervention and his injuries, including a fractured spine, have changed his life.

Sentencing, Judge Simon Phillips QC told Katsande and the youth: “You both set about a frenzied and sustained attack on Marcus Quashie who was unable to escape or resist.

“It was a scene of brutal carnage.”

The court heard Katsande launched a ‘ferocious’ attack on his victim named as Quashie, thrusting his machete at least 10 times through the driver’s window which had been smashed.

Katsande also attempted to hide forensic evidence and the teenager discarded his blood-stained clothes close to his mother’s house.

The victim suffered 19 stab wounds, including to his neck, chest, stomach, back, right arm and lung, and fractures to his spine.

He spent a week in intensive care and had to undergo multiple surgeries.

He said he now only leaves the house to attend hospital appointments and court and relies heavily on his family.

A jury unanimously found the men guilty after a trial last month.

Katsande and another older accomplice were convicted of attempted murder and given 17 years behind bars.