My sister and I, two women in our 70s, were attacked while walking on an eco-trail on the lower South Coast recently.
Our husbands were fishing from the rocks and we decided to walk on the eco trail just above the rocks and in full view of a row of houses.
We hadn’t gone too far when I noticed a third shadow on the rocks right behind us. I turned round to face a young man and we stood aside to allow him
to pass. He then stopped to talk to my sister. He said he was hungry and needed money. We didn’t have money on us.
At this stage I knew we were in trouble. As we turned around to head back to the resort, he suddenly jumped on my sister forcing her face down onto a rock. He then jumped on me and attacked like a wild animal and took my phone from my pocket.
I screamed like hell but the crashing waves were so noisy no one could hear. He didn’t manage to get my sister’s phone as it was zipped in her pocket.
My sister was very badly hurt as she fell onto the rock with such force that it winded her. Thankfully, the man ran off.
My sister’s cellphone was still zipped in her pocket and she was able to phone her husband for help. I managed to run in between the houses to the road where a father and son driving past stopped to assist as well. They were wonderful and called the ambulance, police and security.
My badly injured sister was taken to hospital and then flown home to Cape Town for further care. Her shoulder is fractured in three places with fragmentation. She will not be able to use her right arm for many months to come . She’s probably going to have to have a plate fitted. She battles to walk as she has a prosthetic hip. The medical bills are mounting up. She has nightmares. I have disturbed sleep as well.
My major worry is that this man is still out there. He was identified on the hotel’s CCTV. We have opened a case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and reported it, but my concern is that authorities are not looking hard enough for him. He’s dangerous.
It’s not safe to walk alone in certain areas and ideally there should’ve been warning signs so women don’t go walking on their own. The lady in the unit next to us had an unnerving experience the day before with a man who could well have been the same person. She had to run like mad to get back to the hotel . She wouldn’t go out walking again.
This letter serves as a warning, to women especially, to avoid any complacency and be careful where you go, particularly on your own.
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