Congolese national stabbed and beaten in Estcourt
Congolese national was stabbed, threatened at knifepoint and told 'Get out of our country'
It’s Sunday evening and Djuma Mukoni is walking briskly from Macfarlane Street to town to make a purchase before the stores close.
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The 40-year-old man, who is from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), passed two men on his way who greeted him.
It seemed ordinary enough and Mr Mukoni returned their greeting and continued to walk on. But a firm grip on his wrist made him stop in his tracks.
“We are talking to you! What is your name and surname?” the two men demanded from Mr Mukoni.
“I replied and then they asked me where I am from. I told them I am from the DRC. They grabbed my hand and said ‘What are you still doing in our country? You must get out!’ I knew this was bad news and kept silent,” he explains.
With panic coursing through his veins, Mr Mukoni’s thoughts were consumed by the recent reports of xenophobic attacks and he thought his worst nightmares were coming true when the two men surrounded him.
“They started to pull at my wrist asking ‘What are you still doing here?’ I tried to move away but they slapped me twice. As I tried to escape from the assault, I felt something sharp slice into my hand. It was a knife and I saw blood,” he painfully reminisced.
As Mr Mukoni tried one more escape, he was pushed to the ground but he overpowered one of the men and while his attacker’s attention was diverted, he fled.
After receiving medical treatment at Estcourt Hospital, the beaten and defeated Mr Mukoni went to open a charge at the police station but this proved futile when he was informed that without the identity of the suspects, no charge could be opened.
Sunday’s experience has left Mr Mukoni deeply disappointed. He casts his eyes downwards and stays silent for long seconds before saying that Estcourt has been his home since 2006 and he has enjoyed living here but now he fears for his life.
“Why are we killing and fighting with each other as African people? If I didn’t run away, I don’t know what could have happened to me. How would this have ended?” he questions.
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