Former SA ambassador and wife in ICU after brutal attack in their Joburg home

South Africa’s former ambassador to Libya, Mohammed Dangor, and his wife are recovering in a Johannesburg hospital after being brutally attacked in the early hours of Friday morning.

According to the ambassador’s brother, Zane, the couple were asleep in their Newclare home in Johannesburg when unknown intruders entered and attacked them in their sleep.

"My brother and his wife are still in the intensive care unit (ICU) with heavy swelling to their heads and faces. The next couple of days are very crucial for them as nurses and doctors can’t do anything to them until the swelling subsides a little," Zane said.

He said they discovered that the only items missing from the couple’s home were their two cellphones and laptop computers.

"This is tough on us as a family. There is a lot of anxiety amongst the family too," he said.

In a statement, the ANC said it was shocked and saddened after learning about the attack on Dangor and his wife.

ANC spokesperson Dakota Legoete said: "Ambassador Dangor served his country and its people with selflessness both during the struggle for liberation and after 1994.

"The ANC condemns this senseless crime in the strongest possible terms. We are confident that the criminal justice system will act expeditiously to ensure the arrest, prosecution and swiftly and punishment of these criminals.,"

Legoete urged law-enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in their search for those who committed the callous crime.

"We wish Ambassador Dangor and his wife a speedy recovery."

Dangor, who is the brother of ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte, served as a South African ambassador to Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said a case of house robbery and attempted murder was being investigated.

"Preliminary information reveals that laptops and cellphones were allegedly taken by the robbers, pending further investigations including processing of the crime scene..."

Peters said there had been no arrests as yet.

Police are appealing to anyone who might have heard or observed any suspicious person(s) or activities in the vicinity of Wanderers Street, Newclare, to contact Sophiatown police or call the Crime Stop number 08600 10111.