Political intimidation rears ugly head

A supporter of one of the opposition parties, Peter Dlamini, was allegedly attacked and stabbed by a group of about 20 men in Wesselton Ermelo on Friday evening, 18 April, because he was wearing a T-shirt of the party of his choice.

According to Mr Dlamini, the men, some of whom were wearing T-shirts of another party, asked him why he was wearing that particular T-shirt and ordered him to remove it.

The group then assaulted him, stabbing him in the left forearm and opening a deep gash on his right upper arm.

The wound on the right arm required 12 stitches.

“This is the party of my choice. I believe in freedom of expression and I should be allowed to openly show support for my party, just as these people did by wearing their T-shirts.

“I will not be intimidated and I will continue to support the party I believe in,” he said.

Mr Dlamini is unemployed and does piece work as a handyman, mostly on a day-to-day basis. He supports three children and his mother on this sparse income.

“Because of this, I was not able to work for a few days, which meant there was no money coming in. These people don’t think about the consequences of their actions. They just caused me and my family further hardship,” he added.

The incident was not reported to the police, as the alleged perpetrators could not be identified.