IT DID not occur to Glory Shivambu from Saselamani village near Makhado for a moment that the man she saw squatting in the bushes when she was on her way to the clinic last Monday, could be dangerous.
Shivambu (31) said she thought the man was relieving himself, and she was not worried as the path was quite busy. She continued on her way with her baby on her back. A little bit later, she heard footsteps approaching her from behind.
“I turned around and saw a man running towards me. I moved aside to let him pass but he stopped and grabbed me by the throat.
“With the other hand, he tried to reach for my handbag. I struggled against him and smacked him hard in the face three times, but then he produced a knife,” she said.
“I think I was too strong for him, because by this time he was gasping for air. Holding the knife, he forced me to give him my handbag. My left leg was injured during the scuffle,” she continued.
She said the man then fled with her handbag, in which there was R400 and her cellphone. According to Saselamani police spokesperson, WO Sam Matsimbi, a group of thugs was on the prowl in the area. He said these thugs preyed on people when they went to collect firewood or cut grass.
He further said over the past week, five women had been stabbed and robbed in separate incidents in the area. “The culprits only target women who walk alone in the bushes,” he said.
He said the villages where this was occurring included Magomani, Xikundu Salema and Nkavele.
