A parkwood residents recalls her traumatizing experience
10 years after Madiba’s passing, crime, lack of service delivery and many other challenges seem to have become the norm in South Africa.
A Parkwood resident’s ordeal after being stabbed is a sad reflection on the culture of peace and freedom that was Nelson Mandela’s wish for South Africa. This year marks 10 years since Mandela’s passing and South Africa remains riddled with overwhelming challenges.
Former president Kgalema Motlanthe has gone on record saying that the country is plagued by a lack of service delivery and infrastructure breakdowns, which are exacerbated by corruption and high crime.
Parkwood resident Audrey Motimele experienced both the trauma of crime and the callousness of poor service delivery on November 29. After trying to order an e-hailing vehicle at around 20:00 with no luck, Motimele decided to walk home. While walking on Winslow Road in Parkwood, a vehicle passed her. “The car went on to a traffic circle, then turned around and stopped. A man came out from the back seat of the car and asked me to hand over my phone. I had one phone wrapped in a newspaper and another one hidden elsewhere. He took the one hidden in the newspaper and threw it into the car. “When he came back from the car, he came with a knife and stabbed me in the palms of my hands. The knife fell and I picked it up. I screamed and by the time people came out [to help], the car had left,” said Motimele.
She went to the Parkview Police Station where she opened a case and was given a letter to take to the hospital. Motimele went to a hospital in Rossmore where she said she slept on a bench for the night. When the medical practitioners finally attended to her, they did not wash her wound, but just went ahead and dressed it, she said.
“When I went back to the police station to follow up on the case, the officer said they had received no new information which had led to the closure of the case,” said Motimele.
In a text sent by the Parkview Police Station to Motimele on January 23, it was stated, “All leads followed up, case closed. Dockets will be reopened upon new leads.” The police were approached for comment on Motimele’s assault investigation but would only reiterate the contents of the SMS she was sent. Which means that the police have no viable leads or suspects to proceed with the case.
Share your stories with us by email to naidines@caxton.co.za
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https://www.citizen.co.za/rosebank-killarney-gazette/365675/cashiers-injured-during-a-robbery-in-local-store/
