Two men jailed over car attack on NHS worker during Covid lockdown

By Claire Hayhurst, Reporter30th September 2024News EnglandBristol, Courts / Justice, Hospitals, News England, NHS, Racism, Workforce

Two men have been jailed for more than 14 years for using a car as a weapon to inflict serious injuries on an NHS worker as he left hospital after his shift.

Katungua Tjitendero was struck by a Honda as he walked along the pavement to a bus stop near Southmead Hospital in Bristol on the afternoon of July 22 in 2020.

The 25-year-old suffered extensive injuries and was left pinned between the vehicle and a garden wall as the two masked men from the vehicle left the scene – with one shouting the N-word at him as they ran off.

Members of the public went to Mr Tjitendero’s aid before he was taken by ambulance to the hospital he had left minutes earlier – with his horrified colleagues staying on after their shifts finished to treat him.

On Friday, more than four years after the incident, a jury unanimously convicted Phillip Adams (pictured, left), 26, and Patrick James (pictured, right), 22, of conspiracy to inflict grievous bodily harm on Mr Tjitendero.

Adams – believed to be the driver of the Honda – fled to Dubai ahead of his trial and was sentenced in his absence on Monday to six years in prison, while James was jailed for eight years and six months.

James was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to a similar attack in Avonmouth, Bristol, on July 12 2020 in which cyclist Julian Ford was hit by a car as he cycled along a pavement.

Judge Moira Macmillan told Bristol Crown Court the attacks happened just months into the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

She said: “Katungua Tjitendero was a young man who had chosen to be an essential worker for the NHS at Southmead Hospital.

“He was working from 8am to 4pm every day, serving his community. There is no evidence whatsoever of any motive for this serious assault.”

The judge said the Honda vehicle travelled from an address associated with Adams to Southmead Hospital, where Mr Tjitendero – a musician known as KDogg KT – was leaving work.

It then went to Monks Park Avenue, where Mr Tjitendero was walking to the bus stop while listening to music on his headphones, drove past him and then looped back round before hitting him at low speed.

James had filmed the attack on Mr Ford and had the Snapchat app open on his phone during that incident and in the lead-up to the assault on Mr Tjitendero.

After Mr Tjitendero was hit, Adams and James – one wearing a Scream mask and the other a balaclava or scarf – ran from the car.

The men were seen giving each other a thumbs-up and appeared to be congratulating themselves about what they had done, the court heard.

Judge Macmillan said: “A racial slur was used by one of you. This was a terrible thing to do to another person, let alone to celebrate it.

“It is very hard for those who have heard the evidence to understand your behaviour and your motivation.”

Mr Tjitendero suffered a fractured fibula, fractured nose and lacerations to his head and both shins, and required surgery.

Anjali Gohil, prosecuting, said Mr Tjitendero “stood no chance” against the vehicle being used as a weapon on him.

She told the court: “There was gratuitous use of a racial slur immediately after that attack. He was attacked. He had no warning. There was no possible reason for this to occur.

“The men were masked. They were ready to attack and to flee the scene. As they left the scene, they were described as gesturing with a thumbs-up sign and seen to be congratulating each other.”

In a victim personal statement read to the court, Mr Tjitendero described how “pain was etched” across his lower body in the aftermath of the attack.

His mother, Hivaka Tjitendero – who also worked at the hospital – and stepfather, Eddie Briggs, had to care for him for months.

Mr Tjitendero said the trial had answered some questions but added: “The only question remaining is why they targeted me.

“I’m aware I will probably never know the answer to this question. I don’t want this attack upon me to define who I am.”

The court heard that Mr Briggs, who campaigned for justice for the attack, suffered a fatal heart attack in February 2024.

Speaking outside court on Monday, Ms Tjitendero said Mr Briggs would have been “so proud” to have seen the convictions and prison sentences handed to Adams and James for the attack.

She added: “I have no doubt his death was brought on by the stress and pressures following the attack on our son.”

Ms Tjitendero thanked those who helped her son after the incident, as well NHS colleagues, the anti-racism charity Sari, and Avon and Somerset Police.

“We are very mindful that this cowardly attack, during which the worst racist abuse was shouted at Katungua, has impacted on all of us – family, friends, community, city, nation and beyond,” she said.

Concluding her statement, Ms Tjitendero added: “Lastly, we love our lives, we love each other and we love living in Bristol.

“We love Bristol’s diversity, its art, its music, its sense of humour and decency, and its people. And we will continue to enjoy our lives in Bristol.

“We feel nothing but pity for the hate-filled inadequate people that carried out this cowardly attack, for they and those like them have nothing to offer but hate. We will bounce back.”