Concerns have been raised about the ongoing robbery and brutal attack on emergency service personnel in KZN.

This follows the recent robbery of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel at a Nkwalini Store on the R34 over the weekend.

EMS paramedics were responding to a call when they were reportedly held at gunpoint, robbed of their personal belongings, and forced to drive to at least two taverns to purchase alcohol using their own bank cards.

The victims were held captive for four hours before being released, physically unharmed.

KZN Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane has condemned this act, stating that it is becoming a troubling pattern in a province already stretched thin by the demand for EMS services.

“Our employees answer the call to assist those in dire need, yet they are increasingly being turned into targets of exploitation and criminality. This is unacceptable.

“We condemn this brutality in the strongest possible terms,” said the MEC.

“It is a sad indictment on our society that we are the only communities who would call upon public help only to abuse and rob the very people deployed to save us.

“In any other situations, including war, emergency workers are protected and revered so they can carry out their life-saving duties without fear or favour.”

The incident has been reported to the SAPS for further investigation.

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