When Mrs Thandi Harriet Maswanganyi of Waterval ordered her taxi driver to park the vehicle outside the Makhado show grounds during the closing down of the Makhado Expo on Saturday evening, little did she know that it was dangerous and it would expose her to criminal activities, accompanied by acts of violence.

At about 20:00, Maswanganyi walked out from the show grounds with a friend, who is a nurse at Elim hospita,l and her kids, aged 10 and 12. While standing a few metres away from the main entrance to the local show grounds, she took out her mobile to phone the taxi driver to ask him where he had parked. After talking with the taxi driver, she realised that her sister had remained inside the show grounds.

While she was attempting to phone her sister, an unknown young man grabbed her cell phone, and as she tried to resist by grabbing the armed robber by his t-shirt, he produced a knife and stabbed Maswanganyi twice to her left hand. As there were large gatherings of young people, several other unknown young men came to the rescue of their accomplice.

According to Maswanganyi, the young thugs pushed her friend away, grabbed her handbag and ran away, while the cell phone grabber stabbed her again in the head before he ran away with her cell phone. “It was like a drama; it happened in the blink of an eye. When I was stabbed, I didn't feel it,” she said.

Maswanganyi, who works at Lemana Multi-Purpose Centre, said she did not open a charge immediately after the incident as she was bleeding profusely. Maswanganyi said that in her handbag were her vehicle key, driver’s licence and a Motorola cellphone. “My advice to other people on foot is that it is extremely dangerous if there are crowds of people and no visible policing. I can tell you that criminal activities accompanied by acts of violence are dangerous, because once you refuse to follow the criminals’ instructions or demands, the attackers can harm you,” she said.

Maswanganyi added that, unlike last year, where soldiers were patrolling in- and outside the show grounds, during this year's show, the police were just sitting inside the show grounds. She further indicated that, in future, the show should preferably be staged only during the day if safety is not yet viewed as a major priority.

“I am now getting better, but one of the stab wounds to my hands is very painful. I am still on sick leave,” she said.

The centre manager of Lemana, Mr HG Mdaka, said that everybody at the centre was sympathising with Maswanganyi and wishing her a speeding recovery. “It is important for us as people to live positive lives, respect one another, more especially our women. I am concerned that my staff member is not reporting for duty, because of these criminal acts of morons,” he said.