Weltevreden Park man ambushed and attacked by seven men
“They were there to kill.”
On December 9, Gary Manefeldt was in his garden, braaiing for his family. Without warning he was ambushed and surrounded by seven men wearing balaclavas and armed with machetes and pangas.
“I was outside in the garden when I heard noises. As I looked up from the braai, seven men stood in front of me. The caught me totally off guard,” Manefeldt began. “All that was going through my mind was that I needed to protect my family at all cost. I started to defend myself but I was getting tired and screamed for help. That’s when they cut off my nose.”
The rest of his family, who were indoors, sprang into action after hearing his screams. They all rushed outside and were met with the gruesome scene. Gary was cut up and bleeding. “I just remember thinking ‘you can kill me but you aren’t going to kill my family’.” His family pulled him inside and they barricaded themselves in the bedroom.
His stepdaughter, Dominique Stasio said the attackers continued to torment them after they had locked themselves in the room. “They were everywhere in the house and half of them were breaking the windows in the kitchen. They were also trying to break the window of the room we were in. They kept on saying ‘we’re going to kill you’.”
Even though the attackers were armed and evidently not hesitant to inflict bodily harm, the family said they did not steal much. “They didn’t go into the two rooms upstairs where my mom’s handbag and all our valuables were. They stole two pairs of shoes, a two-plate stove, sunglasses and a loaf of bread,” she revealed.
Once emergency services arrived on the scene, Manefeldt was stabilised and rushed to Helen Joseph Hospital where a doctor only saw him 14 hours later. Manefeldt had sustained injuries including a cut on his mouth, a fractured arm and multiple stab wounds on his body. He would need three operations involving skin grafts and plastic surgery. He has had one surgery done so far and still has two more to go.
Following their ordeal, Gary and his wife Angelique Stasio have been unable to work. Stasio’s hand was crushed by a door when they pulled Gary back into the house. The Weltevreden Park family is raising funds now to pay for Gary’s mounting medical bills, as well as their accommodation and food.
The Douglasdale Police are investigating the case.
Anyone willing to donate to Gary’s cause is welcome to do so at: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/gary-manefeldt
