Hit-and-run victim happy to have got justice

Katungua Tjitendero described the attack as "horrific"

A man left severely injured after being deliberately hit by a car said he is pleased justice has been done.

Katungua Tjitendero was struck by the car after finishing a shift at Southmead Hospital in July 2020.

In September, Phillip Adams, 26, and Patrick James, 22, were sentenced following a trial at Bristol Crown Court for conspiring to "unlawfully and maliciously" inflict grievous bodily harm on him.

Mr Tjitendero, 25, said: "In these types of situations you've got to forgive and forget because it doesn't make sense to hold a grudge."

"It was something horrific which shouldn’t have happened, but it did, so now that the justice is there we can move on," he added.

The jury at the trial was told the case was not being prosecuted as a racially-motivated crime, but a racial slur shouted as the group ran away gave an impression of their state of mind.

Mr Tjitendero, a rapper who is also known as K-Dogg, told Kevin Philemon on BBC Radio Bristol: "This kind of stuff - we don’t expect to happen, but unfortunately it does happen in society.

"There isn’t really much we can do about it. It’s more about educating young people to try and change the future when it comes to racism and stuff like that.

"You've got to look at the positives. Something bad that's happened [but] I'm still here, I still can do things and go forward."

The car was deliberately driven into Mr Tjitendero

The NHS worker had been walking to a bus stop along Monks Park Avenue when the car mounted the pavement and hit him, forcing him onto the windscreen and pinning him against a wall.

Mr Tjitendero suffered a fractured fibula, fractured nose and lacerations to his head and shins in the incident, the court was told.

He required plastic surgery due to the severity of his injuries.

Phillip Adams (L) and Patrick James (R) were convicted by a jury at Bristol Crown Court

Adams, of Southmead, was sentenced in his absence to six years in jail, while James, of Lawrence Weston, as sentenced to eight-and-a-half years for his role in the attack.

James was also convicted of a second charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to a separate incident in Avonmouth, just 10 days prior.

Mr Tjitendero said the incident affected his family and many members of the wider Bristol community.

"Now we can move on forward and get into music and the creative lifestyle again," he said.