WHITE RIVER – Bonga Malope was allegedly headbutted by a man last week Wednesday at the local Engen Garage on his way to buy bread.
He said that when the incident happened, he was with his niece.
It was just around 17.00 when Bonga went to the garage to buy bread. When he got to the garage, he said that he realised that all the parking bases were occupied with only one parking base for the disabled left and he decided to park there.
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“After parking my car, I went to the Quick Shop, before reaching the entrance, this male came and asked if I was disabled and if not I must remove my car. I then told him that I quickly wanted to buy something I would be out within two minutes,“ Bonga related.
He explained to the man that he was with his niece in the car and asked him to calm down. The man continued to provoke Bonga and told him that he doesn’t care if he was with his child or not, he must just remove the car from where it was parked, but Bonga kept on asking him to calm down. The man came close to Bonga’s face “He came close to my face and for a moment we just paused and looked at each other. Before I knew it, the man headbutted me,” he added.
Bonga said he felt his head numb then started bleeding. He asked one of the petrol attendants to call the police and also gave him a tissue to stop the bleeding. The man bought what he needed and swore at him.
He opened a case against the man for assault at the White River police station and he also went to a doctor where he was stitched his wounds.
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Bonga says he’s very upset on how the man handled the situation. “That man is a paying customer like I am. So what gives him the right to attack me in my own personal space? What is worse, he assaults in front of my child! And when goes off to his car, he laughs with his friends about what he had done,“ Bonga said.
He also added that his niece cried endlessly.
“The incident has left my niece traumatised,” he ended.
SAPS spokesperson Col Mtsholi Bhembe said that the suspect was arrested for assault on Monday and he was released with a warning. “He was cooperative and he will appear again on April 17 at White River magistrate’s court.
As SAPS we want to urge the public to avoid taking the law into their own hands. They must not fall into that temptation. We understand that they want to make a difference by assisting although there are ways to do it, such as informing the management in that area where an offence was committed or you can call the police,” he said
