A driver who ran a man over when he saw him pointing a gun at another person was today cleared of the charges brought against him after a court ruled that he was acting in self defence and in defence of others who were in manifest danger.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera ruled that 40-year-old Libyan national Nure Kamakam could not be held criminally liable for the attempted murder of Said Bouslama when he ran him over with his car on October 1, 2010, in Mosta Road in St Paul’s Bay. He was also cleared of seriously injuring him and of driving recklessly.

The court heard that as Mr Kumakam was driving he saw Mr Bouslama pointing a gun at another man, Ahmed Muhammed Mustapha Alouzi.

He pulled over and tried to intervene but Mr Bouslama turned the gun at him and told him not to get involved, also warning him that “you’ll get shot”.

Seeing no other option, Mr Kamakam got back into his car and, at full speed, hit the man with his car, seriously injuring him.

Mr Bouslama told the court that he was hit by the car as he was crossing the road after having stopped to buy bread. But Mr Kamakam and Mr Alouzi gave a totally different and corroborated version of what had happened that night.

The court heard how part of the gun was retrieved from the scene of the incident while the rest of the weapon was retrieved by divers from the seabed in St Paul’s Bay. It is believed that the weapon broke on impact.

Mr Kumakam, who remained on site until the police arrived and even released a statement explaining what had happened, told the court that his intention was not to hurt Mr Bouslama but rather to stop him from putting others in danger.

Mr Alouzi said Mr Bouslama was insisting that he owed him €55 and he threatened him with the gun when he told him that he owed him none.

In her judgment, Magistrate Scerri Herrera noted how the evidence and the circumstantial evidence corroborated the version of the two men who Mr Bouslama had threatened with the gun.

She said Mr Bouslama’s version that he was hit by a car for no reason whatsoever was “far from the truth".

The court said the fact that a weapon was held at someone’s head was the “manifest danger” mentioned in the law.

“Mr Kamakam was not driving negligently or recklessly. It was a calculated manoeuvre with which he could stop Mr Bouslama and avoid another other serious consequences for him and for the person who had a gun held to his head. This leave no doubt in the court’s mind that this was a classic case of self defence so although it is true that he had seriously injured a man, this was done in self defence,” the court said as she cleared him of all the charges.

Joe Giglio was defence counsel.