Residents of Khalankomo and Kamastone villages in Qumbu in the Eastern Cape are living in fear, following a spate of attacks on women and the elderly.
The perpetrators are reported to be heavily armed young men. They demand money and cell phones from the people they attack.
76-year-old Monwabisi Manyamalala, who suffered from a stroke, says he sustained multiple head injuries when he and his 79-year-old sister were brutally attacked last week.
“I am ill already, but they beat me up. Sometimes I can’t even speak coherently. I tried to fight but he hit me very hard with a gun. I fell down and asked what he was doing. He beat me again with the gun and said, “You’re still talking?”. I then sat there and did nothing.
Police in the province are aware of the crime.
The spokesperson Majola Nkohli says they are succeeding in some cases. “Police have made a breakthrough in some cases. On Tuesday 12th of March, we arrested three suspects aged between 17 and 18 and also recovered cell phones and clothes. These suspects are local youths who have already been linked in three other house robberies.”
