Family urge police to find Christmas attacker who stabbed woman 14 times

The family of a woman who was allegedly stabbed 14 times by an ex-boyfriend on Christmas Day say it is a miracle she is still alive. 

It is alleged that Sizani Ngcobo's former partner entered the woman's house in Willowfountain, Pietermaritzburg, while she was sleeping on December 25 and demanded that they rekindle their relationship. 

According to the KwaZulu-Natal social development department, when Sizani refused, the man threatened to kill her and her children before pulling her out of the bed and allegedly stabbing her and leaving her for dead. 

The two have one child together.

Speaking to TimesLIVE on Wednesday, the brother of the 36-year-old mother, Prince Ngcobo, said she has been discharged from hospital and is “recovering slowly at home”. 

“The injuries were extensive, therefore progress on her recovery is slow. However, we are with her here at home - our parents and siblings, we are all focusing on her recovery.

“Despite our support, I think she needs to speak to a professional about the traumatic experience, because sometimes at night she struggles to sleep and she is still scared,” said Prince.

He said the children were asleep when the alleged incident occurred.

The family expressed disappointment that the attacker had not yet been arrested.

“We gave the police all information of where to find this guy, where he works and every time we hear that he has been spotted in a certain area, we call the detective and notify them immediately. However, he has not been arrested.

“The longer he stays out, the longer my sister lives in fear of him attacking her again and killing her this time,” Prince said.

KZN SAPS didn't respond to queries.

Social development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza also called on police to track down the ex-boyfriend.

“We are extremely concerned that this man is still at large. The woman had ended their relationship and the attempt to get her back failed. This man decided to abuse and stab the defenceless woman who had lost interest in him,” said Khoza. 

She described the man's action as cowardly. 

“We want to see this man being caught and spend a long time in prison for abusing the woman. As the province, we have been dealing with a lot of incidents of gender-based violence and we want to see all those involved being arrested and successfully prosecuted,” she added. 

Khoza said social workers would explore the option of removing the victim from her home to a safe place. She called on members of the public to work with the police to ensure that the perpetrator was arrested. 

“We need communities to work closely with law enforcement agencies, government and all other sectors to end the scourge of gender-based violence,” she said. 

The department has dispatched a team of social workers to provide psychosocial support to the victim and her children.

TimesLIVE