A well-known character in the Thohoyandou CBD nearly met his Creator after he was brutally stabbed by a known thug next to the Thohoyandou Post Office.

The incident happened at around 11:00 last Friday. The man, only known as Thomas, who is also mentally challenged, has taken over the area behind the post office as his home. His only sin was to reprimand a man who was urinating behind the postal boxes.

Stanley Mukhubi, a street vendor who plies his trade next to where the incident happened, said he was busy serving his clients when he heard some noises behind the postal boxes. “I did not take it seriously as I thought the two guys were friends talking,” he said. “The noise grew louder and louder and I decided to investigate. I could not believe my eyes. What I saw was horrible. The man was stabbing Thomas while he tried to evade the blows, using his walking stick,” he said. Mukhubi said blood was oozing from Thomas’s chest and he looked seriously injured. He said the two men then chased the assailant along a busy road before he disappeared in the crowd. Mukhubi said the severity of the wound made him summon the ambulance. “I thought this man was going to die as he had a deep stab wound to his chest and he had blood all over his body,” he said. Mukhubi said he was impressed by the response of the emergency people, who arrived within a short space of time and treated the victim before taking him away to hospital. He was discharged later that same day.

“This man has no problem with anybody. He is well known here and has never troubled anybody. We are still baffled and trying to figure out what had hap-pened,” he said. Mukhubi said the assailant allegedly smokes glue. “This man is a menace to society and should be removed and put in jail where he belongs,” he said.

Mirror later met the victim in town that very afternoon, still clutching his walking stick. “I am not a coward. I showed him that I could not just be attacked without defending myself. I also taught him a lesson using this stick. He thinks he is the boss of this town,” he said. He said he would not allow people to urinate at a place where he sleeps. “Just smell, it is all urine here and they expect me to sleep here. I won’t allow anybody here again. I will see to it that this place is kept clean,” he said.

Mirror also tracked down the assailant, who is a known glue smoker and car washer in town. “This is not his mother’s town where he can do as he pleases. I had to relieve myself there as there is no toilet in town. Who is he to reprimand me for urinating in a public place? This is not his home,” he said. He said he was ready to defend himself if the man came for him again.

The spokesperson for the Limpopo police in Vhembe, Inspector Nkanukeni Raedani, said he had no record of the incident.

“We are always ready to assist whoever feels offended and the victim should feel free to come and report the matter,” he said.