Woman burned with an iron for over 20 minutes

COMMUNITY members in Mondlo are still in shock following the attack of a local schoolteacher on Friday, July 28.

Criminals who broke into her home on Friday evening burned Thembi Zwane-Mthembu with an iron for more than 20 minutes.

Mrs Mthembu said that she went to sleep at 09:00 on Friday evening and was woken up by her daughter calling her and telling her to wake up.

“When I woke up I saw two young men who had their faces covered and my daughter lying on the floor,” she said talking to Isolezwe newspaper.

They then asked her where she was hiding her money and after she told them that she did not have any they said that they would torture her until she told them the truth.

They lifted her off the bed, tied her hands and made her lie on the floor.

The criminals then proceeded to plug an iron in one of the sockets in the room and burned her thighs, legs and near her buttocks.

“This went on for more than 20 minutes,” she continued.

She says that they put a banana in her mouth while they were burning her so that her screams wouldn’t be heard.

One of the criminals then suggested they rape Mrs Mthembu and her daughter but the other said that they did not have time.

“After burning me with the iron, they requested my car keys. They threw me into the boot and drove off with me,” she recalled.

They drove off with her and after a while she heard one of them saying that they needed to stop and buy petrol so that they could burn her in the car.

She said that she screamed and after a while there was silence in the car. She assumed that they had left and kicked the boot door until it gave way.

The criminals are said to have left empty-handed, as they did not get any money.

She reported the matter to the Mondlo police station and according to the Vryheid SAPS arrests have been made.