A 23-year-old recovering nyaope addict wants to change others’ lives for better after he was seriously injured by taxi marshals in Braamfontein.
Sipho Cele, who was living on the streets of Joburg, was seriously beaten up by taxi officials, apparently for assisting them.
He has a broken leg, his arms are fractured and he is still recovering from severe facial injuries.
Cele claimed that he was beaten for marshalling commuters into the taxi after the officials had reprimanded him for doing so. He said one of the taxi marshals told him to stop, but he insisted and ended up being injured and subsequently hospitalised.
“The queue marshal did, in fact, rebuke me from performing his duties but I continued and that is when he and some of his colleagues beat me,” said Cele who is now back home in Soweto.
“Even though they really injured me I’m still thankful to them somehow because they helped me to deal with my addiction and even brought me back home.”
Cele was injured in mid-October and spent almost a month in the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Parktown.
A case of assault was opened with the Hillbrow police, but Cele still needs to do an identity parade to identify his perpetrators – although he said he believes it is unnecessary. “Yes they beat me but they also helped me to realise my worth in this life.
“Now I don’t want to go and live on the streets and indulge in substances like nyaope. Instead, I want to use my experience to help young people on the streets to quit and turn around their lives and make a decent living for themselves.”
Cele plans to become a motivational speaker and even start a non-government organisation that supports young drug addicts in Joburg.
He is looking for a potential sponsor to help him fulfil his dream and says he is fully committed to this project.
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