BOER SE VUIS SO HARD SOOS N BAKSTEEN: they hit me with a brick on my jaw’ August 31 Johannesburg - Police have been accused of stonewalling in :investigating a case of crimen injuria and assault that has left two petrol attendants with serious injuries after they were allegedly racially abused and attacked in Bronkhorstspruit last month. Madoda Sibisi and Abion Fanamotha were allegedly called “k******” before being assaulted by two white men travelling in a bakkie that had pulled into an Engen garage, where the pair work, to fill up. The incident, which is believed to have been captured by the petrol station’s CCTV cameras, has left Sibisi with a fractured and dislocated jaw , while Fanamotha suffered extensive cuts on his right eye. According to Sibisi, the two assailants who were initially arrested by police but later released, arrived at the petrol station about 4pm on July 24 and demanded service by the attendants who were all attending to other customers at the time. After a minute, Sibisi told The Saturday Star, the two hurled racial slurs at the black attendants who were on duty saying the “k****** don’t want to serve us” before driving off. As the men drove off, one of the petrol attendants attempted to take their vehicle registration down, which sparked a brawl that ended with Sibisi and Fanamotha sustaining serious injuries. “We asked them why they were referring to us as k****** and they returned to beat us up when they realised we were taking down their vehicle licence plate number,” Sibisi recalled. “All that I remember is when they attacked Abion and I saw him run bleeding. “I tried to rescue him and one of the two men charged towards me and hit me with a brick on my jaw.” Sibisi, 46, who was on a three-month contract at Speeks Motors, has since been released from his duties by the owner of the business, Gerhard Speek. “He accused me of causing the trouble and instigating other attendants to brawl,” he said. “I think my contract would have been renewed if it wasn’t that the owner knows these people who attacked us and is trying to protect them.” Fanamotha said despite submitting statements and medical reports on the extent of the injuries suffered, police had failed to contact them to give the status of their case. “Instead all we heard was that they had been released on bail,” he said. “I don’t know what’s gong to happen to me next because I know they are friends with my boss and they frequent our petrol station.” The Saturday Star established that despite the incident taking place in view of cameras from both petrol stations, which are situated opposite each other in Church Street, police had not requested the footage as evidence from the Engen garage owner. Attempts to obtain comment from the police this week proved futile. When contacted for comment Speek said: “I have given everything to the police. They (police) did not ask for the footage. I am not involved in this incident”. He refused to answer further questions and asked to be called the following day. Sibisi and Fanamotha accused Speek and police of trying to cover up. According to the pair, Speek had allegedly called a manager transporting them to hospital to rather take them to his (Speek’s) doctor who gave them painkillers and claimed they were “fine”. But due to the severity of his injuries, Sibisi later went to the local hospital which transferred him to Pretoria where an X-ray was conducted and it was found that he had fractured and dislocated his jawbones.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 06:35:05 +0000
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