An employee of the Makhado Municipality's, Wisani Tlhabela (34), is nursing his wounds after he was allegedly assaulted while on duty at Banderlierkop, where he had attended to an electricity breakdown on Sunday. At the time of going to press, it was not certain whether the incident was a result of road rage, but one suspect had been detained for some time before appearing in the Louis Trichardt Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

Tlhabela explained that he was driving the municipal vehicle with two colleagues when he overtook a white Mahindra. The Mahindra bakkie was following a horse with a young girl on it. The driver of the other vehicle then chased after them and stopped them.

“He came over and started hitting me on the mouth with a wooden object,” said Tlhabela. “When I asked him why he was assaulting me, he said I had frightened his horse. If it's true that we had frightened his horse, he should at least have spoken with us amicably rather than using violence against a person who didn't wish to fight,” said Tlhabela.

The three municipal workers phoned their supervisor in the Makhado office and told him about the incident. The supervisor then contacted the police, who started investigating the case. It appears that, at the same time, the driver of the Mahindra had gone to the Bandelierkop SAPS to try and report a case of reckless driving.

The mayor of Makhado Municipality, Cllr David Mutavhatsindi, condemned the assault inflicted on the municipality's employee in the strongest possible terms. He made a public appeal to all sections of the community not to impede municipal employees while they are on duty. “Our employees are going to feel unsafe while discharging their duties and the municipality will be blamed for not rendering its responsibility effectively and efficiently,” Mutavhatsindi said. He also commended Tlhabela's two collegues for not taking the law into their own hands and fighting the man who had assaulted Tlhabela, as this would have obstructed the course of justice.

The spokesperson for the Makhado police, Capt Maano Sadiki, confirmed that a 60-year-old suspect was arrested on Monday and charged with assault. He appeared in court on Tuesday morning and the case was postponed to 19 April for further investigation.