Martial arts guru assaults parking marshals after “clamping his moving car” in Bulawayo

A Zimbabwean fitness trainer based in the United States of America has spoken out after he was filmed confronting two Tendy Three Investments (TTI) parking marshals in Bulawayo city centre on Friday.

Tendai Humbasha Maduwa, also known as Sensei Tendai, who resides in Los Angeles, California, was caught on video grabbing and slapping two TTI marshals during a heated confrontation.

The footage has since gone viral on social media, turning a row over a parking clamp into a wider debate about how motorists are treated by parking attendants.

In a statement, Maduwa said the marshals had clamped his car while he was still manoeuvring into a parking bay. He said:

“Greetings fam, just to clarify the case that’s trending on social media between myself and TTI officers. I was along 5th Street at the NRZ building in Bulawayo town. I had my car in drive, with my blinkers on indicating that I wanted to get into the parking lot. There was a car backing up in reverse at the spot I wanted to occupy.

“Immediately as I was about to drive, my window was knocked. I wound it down. ‘Please don’t drive, we have clamped your car,’ one officer said. I put my car in park. I got out and asked them why they clamped a moving vehicle. Arrogantly, he said I was obstructing traffic. ‘How?’ I asked. ‘Mudhara, we don’t care,’ he responded.

“I asked him to take it off and he said he wanted money. Honestly, why would you guys behave like animals? A car in motion, a driver not parked but getting into the parking lot. What if I had backed up in reverse and hit the guy without knowing he was there? Or what if I hit vehicles parked in the lot or people walking around? What kind of behaviour is that?

“Their three supervisors apologised and said they will deal with their staff for behaving inappropriately. I had a lengthy talk with them to stop abusing the public and at least provide basic training to their staff before releasing them. I am offering free sessions to help them do better in future and, better still, provide proper training. If they had not handled the case satisfactorily, I could have sued the TTI company. But all was handled amicably.”

Related:

Fitness trainer to sue Bulawayo parking company, TTI, for character assassination Sensei Tendai granted US$200 bail after clash with Bulawayo parking marshals