Taxi driver tried to murder fraudster who left him homeless outside court

A fraud victim who tried to murder the scammer responsible for making him homeless outside a court has been jailed for five years and four months.

Awet Teame, 32, drove his taxi at and struck Bekezela Ncube outside Glasgow Sheriff Court on March 1 last year.

A High Court judge heard how Teame’s actions were caught on his own dash cam.

Lord Arthurson heard that the attack took place on the same day that Ncube was due to stand trial for conning Teame out of £9,000.

But Teame experienced what his defence lawyer Duncan McPhie described on Thursday as “moment of madness” and took the law into his own hands.

In graphic footage captured by his car’s camera, Teame sped towards the man, mounted the pavement, and sent him across the bonnet of his Mercedes Citan.

Ncube escaped without any serious injury.

Teame, of Shettleston, Glasgow, initially fled the scene, but returned to court hours later and signed in at the building as a witness.

He was then observed acting calmly, shaking hands with people and sitting near police officers in the moments before he was eventually arrested.

The first offender pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder earlier this year and was remanded in custody by Lord Arthurson, who called for a report into his background.

On Thursday, Teame appeared in the dock of the High Court in Edinburgh for sentencing.

Lord Arthurson said: “The nature of the offence means a custodial sentence is inevitable.

“The location of the offence is a material aggravation.

“In the whole circumstances, you will serve a period of imprisonment of five years and four months.”

At earlier proceedings, Lord Arthurson heard how Ncube had conned Teame out of £8,721 of cash in late 2021.

Ncube was later charged with a number of frauds.

A trial – previously postponed a number of times – was due to take place on the day of the crime.

Teame had been due to testify as a witness and drove to court that morning.

He initially remained in his vehicle in nearby Carlton Place for around 40 minutes before driving away and then returning shortly after.

Ncube was soon spotted heading towards the court building.

Prosecutor Christopher Wilson KC said: “Teame noticed him and began to rev the engine of his vehicle.

“While Ncube was midway across the road, Teame accelerated towards him.

“Ncube ran, but was struck on the left side of his body.

“The collision occurred while Ncube was on the pavement. He was lifted up off his feet onto the bonnet.”

Footage of the incident from the dashcam and a CCTV camera was played in court.

Ncube was briefly knocked out after being hit but managed to get back to his feet and run towards the steps leading to the court.

Mr Wilson added: “At this point, Teame drove the vehicle forward and to the left in an attempt to strike Ncube as he went past.

“The vehicle collided with the wall in front of it while Ncube ran up the steps.”

Teame reversed and did a U-turn away from the scene. He damaged the wheel of his car as he carried out the manoeuvre.

Ncube alerted police at the sheriff court to what had happened.

He was soon taken to hospital and found to have suffered grazes to his hand as well as tenderness across his body.

Teame later returned to the Sheriff court and checked in to be a witness – but he was later held by officers following reports of the attack.

The hearing was also told that Ncube was eventually convicted in January 2025 for a string of frauds, given 300 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay back cash to Teame.

On Thursday, Mr McPhie told the court that his client had been “defrauded” by Ncube in the present case.

Speaking of how his client had expressed remorse for the crime, Mr McPhie added: “As a result of him being defrauded by the complainer in this case, he was homeless and living in a shelter.

“He was working as a taxi driver and he used that taxi to commit the offence.

“At the time of the offence, he lost control and to use a cliche, my lord, there was a rush of blood to the head.

“He acted impulsively in his actions on the day.”

Lord Arthurson also banned Teame from driving for seven years.