He came to Thohoyandou to sell light household items, but he ended up with a huge stab wound to his head. Blood was oozing all over his body as he sat in pain on the pavement while shoppers looked at him with sympathy.

This is the story of Thomas Sechaba (29) of Malamulele, who was stabbed to the head by a stranger who wanted his money on Thursday last week. "He told me to give him money and at first, I thought he was joking. He then became more aggressive and I started running away. While I was running away, he kicked me several times. I tried to pick up a stone to protect myself. While I was still picking up the stone, he stabbed me with a knife in the head."

Sechaba said he did not realize that he was injured at first. "I was not aware that I was injured, until I saw blood flowing down my face. I tried to run but I did not have enough strength; that was when I fell to the ground." Sechaba was saved by the timely arrival of the emergency staff and the police. He was treated at the scene and sent to the hospital while his attacker was still on the run.

One of the street vendors who saw the whole drama said: "I could not believe it when I saw these two men running after each other just near me. They were both running at high speed and I saw the other one stabbing his victim with a knife. The victim’s head was full of blood and it was not a pretty sight."

Efforts to contact Insp Nkanukeni Raedani of the Thohoyandou Police were futile as he was not immediately available at the time of going to press.