When a former Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral spokesperson and head of a non-profit organisation climbed out of his vehicle to investigate why his tyres had burst, he saw the metal spikes laid out across the road.
What followed was a day of turmoil for his family, who had no idea where he was as he lay fighting for his life in Dora Nginza Hospital without any form of identification on him.
Robbed and beaten to within an inch of his life by three armed men, Siyanda Vazi, 36, eventually passed out at a garage shop, where his assailants had taken him to withdraw cash from an ATM.
The spikes were strategically placed at the traffic lights in Old Uitenhage Road, with Vazi being forced to stop due to the damage to his vehicle.
The attack happened after 10pm on Friday, at the traffic lights at the intersection of Johnson and Uitenhage roads near the Nelson Mandela University’s Missionvale campus.
He had been on his way home to his wife and young children in Kariega.
Earlier that day, The Herald had highlighted the area as a danger zone due to its 10 faulty traffic and pedestrian lights, and poorly lit streets at night.
Safety and security portfolio head Lawrence Troon suggested the traffic lights be changed to traffic circles due to budget constraints and repeated incidents of vandalism.
On Monday, Vazi, who is still recovering from his extensive injuries, said his attackers were well-organised and had clearly taken advantage of the darkness in the area.
“From the robots near [Kwa]Magxaki to the robots at Vista [Missonvale campus], it was pitch black on that road,” Vazi said.
“I heard the noise of my tyres bursting but I continued to drive for as long as I could.
“My car eventually slowed down and then stopped.
“I got out to investigate but three men pounced on me.
“They robbed me of everything, including my wallet, cellphone and even my wedding ring.
“As they assaulted me, I saw their guns and I begged them to not kill me. I told them that I had little children.”
Vazi said his attackers had a vehicle on standby.
“I managed to convince them to take me to the garage to withdraw money and as soon as I walked into the shop at the garage, I collapsed.”
Swollen, battered and bruised, Vazi eventually woke up the next day in hospital .
His car was found next to the road by police at about 5pm on Saturday and they managed to trace his family.
Vazi, who was the spokesperson for former acting mayor Thsonono Buyeye, is the founder and CEO of the Ubomi Foundation, which seeks to tackle socioeconomic issues in both urban and rural parts of the province.
He said he had opted to post about his ordeal on Facebook because he wanted to warn others about the modus operandi of the criminals.
“The municipality must really sort out [these lights] because I hear this is not the first time something like this has happened in the area.
“The calmness of these thugs also tells me that they have done this before.”
Vazi said as he was still in a lot of pain, he was yet to travel to the KwaDwesi police station to report the matter.
Police spokesperson Col Priscilla Naidu said she was unable to comment on the prevalence of these incidents.
“Some robots in Stanford Road have been changed over 20 times and we do not have an unlimited budget,” Troon said.
He encouraged residents to report the vandalism of municipal property.
“We take videos of people vandalising municipal property, but we do not report it to law enforcement agencies.
“What kind of society is that?
“It’s a reflection of how we have degenerated as society,” he said.
Questions on the darkness of that stretch of road and what the municipality planned to do about it, were put to municipal spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki, who had not responded by the time of going to print.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.