Thug mugs woman on her way home from work

A mother of two is still recovering from shock after she was mugged on her way from work in Louis Trichardt last Wednesday night (10^th).

Ms Azwihangwisi Terry Nthangeni from Madombidzha Zone Two was rushing to the bus rank in the vicinity of Premjee & Son Cash and Carry after work at around 19:00 when a man wielding a knife suddenly came up to her.

“I was so terrified at the sight of the knife clutched in his hand and raised high above his shoulders as if he was going to stab me with it,” Nthangeni said. “He said that I must hand him my handbag or else he would knife me to death.”

However, she was reluctant, so the attacker slashed her hand with his knife and snatched the bag from her. She screamed at the top of her voice and two security officers from other business sites came rushing to help her.

“When he saw the security officers, he dashed away with my handbag, which contained my purse with my ID card, money and other personal belongings,” she said. “The two security officers had to assure me that he was gone and that I was safe, because I was crying and shuddering in fear. I love my son and daughter, and I couldn’t imagine dying and leaving them alone. I am working, so that I can provide for them.”

The attacker had almost cut off Nthangeni’s thumb. She hurriedly got unto a bus so she could get to a clinic.

The following morning, she was contacted by a person who had seen a post on Facebook about her stolen purse, who informed her that she could arrange to pick up her purse, which still contained her ID card and money. “I went to collect my purse from the person who had picked it up in town. I'm just surprised that the attacker didn't take the money,” she said.

“I feel that Louis Trichardt is not safe anymore,” she sobbed. “I am making an appeal that transport be arranged to come and pick people up right at their place of work to avoid such a situation that nearly cost me my life.”

Nthangeni did not report the incident to the police. Limpopo police spokesperson Col Moatshe Ngoepe said that reporting crime was essential to help the police in conducting the fight against crime effectively. “We advise members of the community that whenever they become victims of crime, they must report it to their nearest police station immediately, so that the perpetrators are arrested,” he said.

Date:19 March 2021

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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