Zandile Mojapelo, a Public Safety official and provincial Community Guardians leader, is recovering after being a victim of a violent attack last month in Alexandra, which left her unable to walk.

The attack, which left her hospitalised for about a month, took place on 2nd Avenue in Alexandra on September 6. Now, weeks after being discharged, she not only has to live with the trauma, but the excruciating pain of her injuries and exorbitant medical expenses.

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“This incident hurt me to such an extent that I felt that I wished I could die,” she said. “Speaking to a professional helped me understand that they took what they did, but they didn’t take my life.”

On the night of the incident, Mojapelo had gone to deliver reflector vests to patrollers working at a local event when she and a man she was with were ambushed by armed men. She recalled how she instantly became suspicious when she saw how they were walking. “They weren’t walking like normal people would. They were [walking] on the sides of the road, and when the person I was with tried to quickly open the gate, everything happened.”

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She saw one of the assailants allegedly pointing a firearm at a customer who was at a shop nearby. Then, she was attacked, pistol-whipped and shot in the leg. “I got injured on the head, I had scans, and I’m still being treated. I got shot in the leg, it had a lot of holes, and my bone was shattered. They [doctors] had to do a bone graft to make me a new bone.”

But the physical trauma was only the beginning. Mojapelo’s recovery has been marred by financial strain. While her in-hospital treatment was covered by medical aid, she now pays out-of-pocket for expensive prescriptions. “My medication is very expensive. On Monday, I met with three doctors and got three different prescriptions. Just one cost R2 100, I couldn’t buy other medication.”

Two suspects were arrested in connection with the attack and appeared in the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court on October 7. Their case was postponed to October 20 to allow them to apply for state-appointed legal counsel.
The incident has raised concerns about the safety of community patrollers in crime-ridden areas such as Alexandra. “I had always known that 2nd Avenue is not safe. The community must also know that the place we are living in is not safe, and they need to stop undermining the volunteers who are working on the streets. Those volunteers are suffering; they risk their lives.”

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