A Fidelity security guard was robbed of his cellphone and brutally stabbed while on his way from work, at the bushes near Pretorius and Noordwes streets in Louis Trichardt in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The local police put a sign to warn residents not to use the footpath along the bushes near Pretorius and Noordwes streets as a shortcut to Tshikota township, following the spate of crimes that are being committed in the area.

Not very far from the two streets, there is a house standing without a roof and it is believed that criminals are using it as their hideout. Residents refer to the structure as the "show house".

Security guard Peter Lufuno Ravhambani, who has been using the dangerous footpath since 2002, never thought that he could be attacked, until it happened to him on Saturday, April 21.

He said that two men emerged from the ´show house´ throwing stones and instructing him to stop. Ravhambani said that, after the criminals realised that their stones were not reaching him, they ran closer and began waving knives. The injured guard said that the two men covered their faces with balaclavas.

The security guard added that as his attackers were trying to grab him, they told him, in a Zimbabwean dialect, to give them his cellphone and money. "It was like a drama. While they were attacking me with their knives, they kept on saying Tsherede kumbe Mari. I tried to fight back, but they overpowered me after stabbing me twice under the right shoulder," he said.

He said that even after they had taken his cellphone from inside his pocket, the two unknown criminals did not stop attacking him. They also stabbed him in the left hand. "After I realised that the criminals would not stop, I ran away to save my life. They tried to chase me, but I outpaced them," he said.

On arrival at his room in Tshikota, Ravhambani fell down. His brother-in law arrived an hour later and took him to the Louis Trichardt Memorial hospital. Ravhambani was discharged from the hospital on April 25.

When Mirror visited him this week, the security guard was still complaining of unbearable pain from the stab wounds. "I will never use that footpath again," he said. He also alleged that certain police officers came to his ward at the hospital and told him that they could only open a case if he knew his attackers.

The PRO of the civic association in Tshikota, Pastor TP Mashau, claims that their organisation has been requesting the municipality to clear the bushes and to demolish the ´show house´

He further alleges that they frequently receive reports of people who have been robbed, stabbed or raped on the dangerous footpath. Mashau also appealed to residents to refrain from using all footpaths as shortcuts to the township as they might also be robbed, attacked or murdered.

The regional organising secretary of Sanco in the Vhembe region, Mr David Makananise, said that the municipality must clear the bushes and zone the area for residential purposes. He also blamed the local SAPS for failing to open a case, following Ravhambani´s brutal attack.