A Zimbabwean sustained serious injuries to his neck when he
came under attack from a group of about 30 people‚ allegedly over a
long-standing issue regarding eviction threats by community members.
Gibson Ncube said his family have previously complained about being
victimised by community members‚ who had been demanding ownership papers of the
house in recent months.
Ncube said that his family lives in constant fear.
"It was about 2pm [on Saturday] and my wife and I were
watching TV when we heard a knock at the gate. When I went to investigate‚ I
saw a group of people standing at my gate demanding that I open and let them
in‚" he said.
Ncube alleges that he identified many of the people as
being the ones who had tried to evict him in May.
"They started hitting the main gate with whatever they
had. I then opened the gate because some of them were jumping over the
wall."
Ncube said this is when the mob attacked him.
"They hit me with sticks and the one guy used an axe
to hit me at the back of my head. They were saying to me that this house is now
theirs. When I woke up I found that I was covered in blood and on the
ground."
Ncube said he mustered the strength to get up and walk to
the police station‚ where his wife found him after narrowly escaping the wrath
of the mob herself.
"The police called me an ambulance and I was taken to
Masakhane Clinic for treatment. When we were done I went back to the police
station and they opened a case of assault."
Police then escorted Ncube to his home‚ where he alleges
his attackers had been inside drinking alcohol and playing loud music.
"They were partying at my home. They had thrown out
all of our things into the street‚" he said.
Ncube applied for the house in 1996‚ five years after
moving to South Africa from Zimbabwe. He moved into the home in 2010.
While he is currently unemployed‚ he previously ran a
business where he sold clothes on the side of a road near to his home.
However‚ he was targeted and forced to stop selling any
clothes‚ leaving him without any sort of income to support his wife and
daughters‚ aged five and 14.
"I am very concerned. I am just happy that my children
were not at home when I was attacked. I did not want them to see that‚" he
said.
Gauteng police spokesperson Col Lungelo Dlamini said five
people - three women and two men - were arrested on charges of malicious damage
to property and assault with grievous bodily harm.
"They will appear at the Alexandra Magistrate's Court
on Tuesday‚" said Dlamini.
Meanwhile‚ Ncube said he wants to see justice.
"Police are saying that the housing department needs
to assist them in investigation. I want to see justice so all these problems
for my family can be resolved‚" he said. Times
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