LISTEN | Informal trader risks life to save woman from knife attack

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Opens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowEnter fullscreen mode displaying this image.ExpandBoitumelo Mazibuko was stabbed multiple times by a taxi driver in Joburg. Picture: Supplied Story audio is generated using AI

A Johannesburg informal trader risked his own life to save a woman who was being brutally stabbed, intervening just as her ex-boyfriend allegedly tried to slit her throat.

Sibusiso Ngcobo, the secretary-general of informal traders at the Bree Street Taxi Rank, said he initially thought Boitumelo Mazibuko, 26, had fallen and needed help. But when he got closer, he realised she was fighting for her life.

He said he realised she was fleeing from a man who was stabbing her.

“I thought I should go and assist her, but when I got closer I saw there was a man with her and assumed he was helping her up. Then I realised he was actually stabbing her and continued stabbing her.”

Mazibuko was being attacked by her taxi driver ex-boyfriend Siyabonga Msimanga.

The attack unfolded on September 29, the day after President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on efforts to combat gender-based violence following the discovery of several women’s bodies in Ekurhuleni. Ramaphosa had urged men, in particular, to lead by example and help the fight against GBV.

Ngcobo watched in horror as Msimanga, 45, repeatedly stabbed Mazibuko while she was lying on the ground.

“He stabbed her on the back of the neck. He then turned her over and stabbed her between her breasts. He was on top of her, stabbing her. I shouted at him to stop, but he continued.

“The woman managed to get up and run, but he chased her, caught up with her and threw her to the ground again. That was when I realised he wanted to kill her.”

Ngcobo rushed towards the attacker and kicked him in the head as he attempted to slit the woman’s throat. He kicked Msimanga with such force that he lost his balance and fell as well.

The suspect allegedly picked up the knife and began chasing Ngcobo, but then decided to flee the scene.

According to Ngcobo, Mazibuko pleaded desperately for her life during the attack. “She kept saying she was tired and that he must stop as she did not have the strength.”

He said many people witnessed the attack but were too afraid to physically intervene because the suspect is a well-known taxi driver with a reputation for violence.

“People were shouting from a distance, telling him to stop, but nobody came to physically stop him,” explained Ngcobo.

The following day, Ngcobo said several taxi drivers warned him that he had interfered with a dangerous man. “They told me to look after myself because the man I had stopped was known to be violent and dangerous,” he said.

“I couldn’t fold my arms and watch a woman being killed. There was no way I was going to allow that to happen.”

While Mazibuko has been discharged from ICU, she is still recovering in hospital. Her mother, Lebohang Zikode, said she faces a long recovery after losing the sensation in her left leg. Doctors believe a stab wound near her spine may have damaged a nerve.

Zikode also alleged that the suspect contacted her after the attack, admitting he had stabbed Boitumelo and asking for forgiveness.

“The message that shocked me the most was when he said he would send his family from KZN to apologise on his behalf and that they would pay for the embarrassment and harm caused to my daughter. They offered me R20,000.”

In his plea, which Sowetan has seen, Msimanga said he attacked Mazibuko because she would not stop talking to another man.

“To tell you the truth, there is no amount of money that can equal the life of my child. I am still shocked that he thinks money can solve something like this,” said Zikode.

According to Zikode, her daughter had ended her relationship with the suspect because of concerns about his alleged violent behaviour.

She expressed deep gratitude to Ngcobo for saving her daughter. She believes the attack would have ended in murder had Ngcobo not intervened.

Police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said a case of attempted murder is being investigated. “The suspect was arrested and appeared before the Johannesburg magistrate’s court on October 2.”

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