A forklift driver has been jailed for a frenzied assault on a teleporter operator after a traffic dispute in a builder’s supplier yard.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Alex Nyamhamba (22) was driving the forklift at a Chadwicks yard when he crashed into a van. The victim had arrived at the yard in a teleporter to pick up a pallet and asked Nyamhamba to move the forklift so he could enter the yard.
Garda Shane O’Connor told the court that Nyamhamba then became aggressive and began yelling at the victim and told him to f**k off. The victim began to slowly drive into the yard.
Nyamhamba jumped into the cab of the teleporter and punched the victim in the head eight to 10 times, the garda said. The victim had two front teeth broken and two other teeth knocked out. He suffered pain and bruising on his head, the court heard.
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The defendant’s supervisor spoke to both men and Nyamhamba admitted he had assaulted the victim. He later told gardaí that he had lost control of his temper.
Nyamhamba of Honeypark, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm at Chadwicks, Raven Road, Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin 18, on April 1st, 2025. He has no other criminal convictions.
CCTV of the incident was played to the court.
Kevin Roche, defending, told the court that his client had a history of difficulty with his temper and, as a young man, he had attended counselling to address this. He said his client told gardaí that the victim had spat at him, but the victim does not accept that this happened.
He said his client now accepts this was an egregious act of violence and sincerely apologises for his actions. He noted that his client lost his job as a result of this incident.
Judge Dara Hayes said that the defendant had carried out a frenzied attack on the victim. He said that while there may have been some act of aggression on the part of the victim, it didn’t excuse or justify what Nyamhamba did next.
“This was an entirely disproportionate reaction to what was not much more than a traffic dispute,” he said.
He noted that the mitigating factors include the guilty plea, absence of any other offending and the remorse expressed. He also noted that Nyamhamba had offered €1,000 to the victim as a “practical demonstration” of his remorse and this has been accepted.
He imposed a custodial sentence of 2½ years and suspended the final 15 months on condition that Nyamhamba keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
