Durban — Just a day after KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli launched the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, Sibongile Dladla was brutally stabbed four times allegedly by her boyfriend on Tuesday.
She survived the ordeal and lived to tell her harrowing tale.
Dladla, from uMlazi, south of Durban, claimed that her partner was under the influence of alcohol when he assaulted her, inflicting four stab wounds, one in the neck and stomach, and two on her back.
Recounting the near-death ordeal, Dladla said: “He came back around 5pm and started swearing at me. I tried to ignore him, but the more silent I was, the angrier he became until he took a table knife and began stabbing me.”
In a fight for her life, Dladla managed to push her boyfriend to the ground, escaped through the door, and sought help from nearby neighbours who immediately rushed to her aid.
“If it weren’t for my neighbours, I don’t think I would have survived the attack. I would have been dead by now,” she said, sobbing.
She was rushed to Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital in uMlazi where she received medical attention.
According to the latest crime statistics released on Monday for the second quarter of the current financial year, uMlazi registered the highest number of attempted murder cases reported nationally, followed closely by Inanda, Verulam, and Ntuzuma.
Describing her partner as abusive, particularly when he is drunk, Dladla declared the latest incident as the “final nail in the coffin” of their relationship.
“I am leaving him and going to my homestead in Nongoma. If I allow him back into my life, he is going to kill me. I don’t want to die and leave my son (who is six years old from her previous relationship). I am leaving him before he kills me,” she said.
The boyfriend cannot be named as he has to appear in court.
She was preparing to leave the uMlazi area when she spoke with the Daily News on Wednesday.
Musa Cele, a neighbour who aided in Dladla’s rescue, expressed relief at her decision to separate from her abuser.
“As respected people in our community, we are against any form of violence, especially against women and children. We are not going to allow anyone to abuse their partners under our watch,” he stated.
Community leader Mxolisi “Danger” Ngcobo reiterated the community’s commitment to combating violence against women and children.
“We are going to come down very hard on people who abuse women and terrorise our community. We are cleansing this area of crime – including violence against women and children,” said Ngcobo.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed the incident, saying the suspect faced a charge of attempted murder and was yet to appear in court.
During the launch of the 16 Days of Activism in Pietermaritzburg on Monday, Premier Ntuli said: “We must cultivate a culture where our communities work in harmony to bring abusers to justice and support victims in their path to healing.”
Ntuli vowed the government would intensify its fight against gender-based violence in the province.
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