Knife-wielding man attacks students at communal residence in Welgelegen
Asked if they had opened a case with the police, Tshepiso Komane said the students had been discouraged by the police's seeming delay to get to the scene on time, even after numerous phone calls.
POLOKWANE – Students who share communal residences should prioritise their own safety by being aware of what is happening in an around the house.
This is the advice of a group of students who stay in Welgelegen, who last week had the harrowing experience of finding a stranger in the residence ready to ransack the property. One of the students, who opted to remain anonymous, told BONUS that five students were hanging out at the residence on Saturday, 31 August at around 18:30.
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“One girl was in her own room at the back of the house, while the rest of us were together in the front of the house. “He said at one point, he left the room to go to the bathroom, which is next to the girl’s room.
“On my way, I bumped into a stranger who was holding a jersey that looked like he was using it to hide something. I passed him and made my way to the bathroom.” While busy, he said he could hear the man he had just bumped into, trying to gain entry into one of the rooms.
“I quickly got out of the toilet and this is when I saw him holding a panga, trying to stab the girl who was fighting to enter her room.” He managed to fight off the intruder and, asked what he was doing at the property, the man said he was looking for a person the student said didn’t reside at the address. “I had to lie and convince him the person he was looking for was in the room where the others were sitting.
Once the man saw he was outnumbered, he tried using this panga again, and the male students had to fight him off.” Tshepiso Komane, who assisted, told BONUS the man eventually ran out of the house. “We tried to restrain him while the others called the police. The police took too long to arrive and the man ran off again.”
According to Komane, the ordeal was a wake-up call.
“Had there not been anyone in the toilet, who knows what could have happened to our friends.” He said they managed to take a photo of the intruder, and this image has made the rounds on social media in recent days.
Asked if they had opened a case with the police, Komane said they had been discouraged by the police’s seeming delay to get to the scene on time, even after numerous phone calls. A member of the local neighbourhood watch, who does not want to be named, says the incident prompted them to have a community meeting where they alerted the community and circulated the man’s photo. “We are still looking for the man, but in the meantime, residents should be vigilant,” Col Manamena Mphure told BONUS.
He promised to investigate the matter.
