POLOKWANE – Police are warning the city’s joggers to avoid running alone after a man had to fight off two attackers on Thursday.
The runner, who prefers to remain anonymous, says the attack happened in Diemeer Street at 05:00. He says he was running when two men, one wielding a knife, attacked him near the Extension 100 building site.
The victim says he was on his regular morning run when two men appeared from the bushes next to the road and attacked him. He says one of the men was armed with a large knife and tried to stab him while the other attacker tried to kick his legs from under him.
“They demanded a cell phone from me, but I had nothing on me. One of the men grabbed my arm as I tried to keep the other man from stabbing me with a very long knife. While I was trying to block the men from both sides, I managed to pull the one in front of me closer. I kicked him in the groin and punched him in the jaw. This forced him to the ground.
“The man with the knife, who was behind me, tried to stab me again as his partner fell to the ground. I managed to get a good grip on his arm and tried to take the knife from him. At that moment a car came around the corner and the men ran away and disappeared into the bushes,” the runner says.
He says he was still very shocked and a motorist stopped and offered to drive him home.
“It was only when I got home and spoke to my wife that I realised that I could be wounded. I checked for wounds, but found that I was unharmed,” he says.
“It’s strange how a person reacts in these situations. At first I experienced fear and the next moment I went into self defense mode. Afterwards I was very angry.”
He adds that he did not report the matter to the police, because he could not recall any of the two attackers’ faces and the only damages he suffered was to his wrist watch, which was broken in the scuffle.
Polokwane police spokesperson, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba, says a few incidents of runners who were attacked and robbed while they were running in the Eduan Park area were reported in the last few weeks.
“The police are looking into these incidents and we urge the public to report incidents like these to help the police in bringing these criminals to book. The more complaints we receive, the stronger we can build our cases,” he says.
Ramoshaba advises runners and cyclists to try to jog and ride in groups so that they can reduce the probability of an attack.
“Sole runners or riders make easy targets. When you are in a group of four or more, the chances of becoming a victim are greatly reduced.”
