Noxolo Ntuli runs away from robbers who attacked her. Image: Screenshot via Youtube
A few defense classes have paid off well for Noxolo Ntuli, a medical scientist from Johannesburg who is completing a masters degree.
Ntuli was able to fight off men who attacked her and tried to steal her bag – which contained her wallet and a USB containing a draft of her masters thesis – which she is due to submit at the end of the month.
Video footage of Ntuli bravely fighting the men emerged and she gave an interview to 702, speaking about the experience. Ntuli escaped with a few bruises and all her belongings intact.
“As soon as they were pulling up next to me I was thinking about all the admin that I would have to go through. I would have to change everything from my house keys to me going to the banks to get new cards, licensing departments and all the work that is on my hard drive.
“I was thinking of all those things and I just couldn’t let go. In that moment I didn’t have time to feel scared, I only felt scared after when the crowd was walking me home it only hit me then. I realised that this could have turned out badly for me. At that present moment I was just determined to hold on to my stuff and get home.”
A woman who slowed down and witnessed the incident visited Ntuli later to explain why she couldn’t assist.
“She later came to our house to apologise, she said she had kids in her car. I would have done the same in her situation, it’s hard to stop when there are kids.”
Listen to the full interview below: