Lonehill resident Khaya Thwala says she is still struggling to process the trauma of an incident during which she was allegedly threatened and assaulted by a job seeker, while walking with her seven-year-old son along Sunset Avenue in Fourways.

“I am still reeling from shock,” Thwala said. “Even now, I am still scared to run or jog. What scared me the most was when he kept saying he knows where I stay during the altercation.”

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Thwala said she was horrified that a grown man was willing to slap her, particularly in the wake of the country’s recent gender-based violence awareness campaign, when South Africans went purple in solidarity against violence towards women.

“As a woman, that was terrifying. After everything we’ve been speaking about as a country, this still happened.”

She was adamant that the man involved was a job seeker.

According to Thwala, he was holding a placard stating that he was looking for work, claiming to be an electrician, and was carrying tools.

She said the tools were later used in a threatening manner during the confrontation.
Sunset Avenue is known for having a lot of job seekers. Metro police has had a number of operations to remove them.

This is because municipal by-laws prohibit informal job seeking on roadsides.
Despite the trauma, Thwala expressed appreciation for the support she received in the aftermath of the incident.

She praised the swift response from private security companies, the ward 94 councillor, David Foley and law enforcement officials, saying their actions made her feel supported during an extremely distressing time.

While she said Douglasdale SAPS arrived later than expected, Thwala said officers explained that they had been attending another hijacking case before responding to her call.

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“They took the time to explain the situation to me, and I felt supported,” she said. She added that she does not want anyone else to experience what she and her child went through. “I’m still traumatised, but I don’t want this to happen to anybody,” she said.

Foley expressed sympathy to the family. “I am very sorry this happened to you in the area. We certainly need to bring the person to face charges, so the word can spread that we mean business.”

Foley acknowledged ongoing challenges along Sunset Avenue, noting the presence of job seekers in the area.

He said several joint operations involving SAPS, JMPD, and Home Affairs had been conducted, but that people continued to return.
Foley also encouraged residential complexes in the area to consider joining the Fourways Improvement District (FID) to strengthen visible policing and by-law enforcement.

“Imagine the street has extra security personnel that are constantly observing, reporting, and taking the required action to support and protect residents.”

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