By Anita Dangazele
Excerpt: A herdwoman from Mthatha west, Vuyokazi Mbingeleli, alleges that a local chief and his gang burned her home and shot her son after she refused to pay a protection fee, and she claims police have done little to help her.
A woman from Chris Hani Location, whose home was allegedly torched by an extortion gang in Mthatha west, has spoken out about her ordeal.
Vuyokazi Mbingeleli claims that Mthatha west Chief Sakhumzi Dalinzolo Mareke and his associates burned her house and shot her son after she refused to pay them a “protection fee” in October 2023.
Mbingeleli says she was appointed as a herdwoman in the Mthatha West Area by Abathembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo.
“The trouble started when they [Mareke and his gang] started demanding a protection fee from me and my community. I refused to pay it and I told the residents they mustn’t pay this protection fee. They came to kill me in my house but I called my neighbours and that’s how I survived.
“I then ran away to my sister’s house in Komani and stayed there for a while. When I was coming back to Mthatha, I told one of my neighbours and that Friday those men were in my house again. Luckily, I wasn’t there but they found my son and shot him four times. He managed to run away and so they burnt my house down to the ground,” she said.
At a media briefing on Sunday, Mbingeleli revealed to top police officials how she was later threatened by a police officer after the attack.
“I’m living with so much anger, general, because law in Mthatha takes its time. You can report anything to the police in Mthatha but it will drag. As a single mother, I was shot at with my children and the police did nothing to help me.
“I opened the case on 11 October 2023 when they first came, but police never followed up, and on 18 October they came and burnt my house down, shooting my son in the process. I called the Mthatha Central Police station but police never came. The following day, a Sector Manager called Bebeza came to my house and threatened me.
“He asked why the king would appoint people without their approval. He told me that I must watch myself,” she told the media briefing.
National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola met with Mbingeleli privately after the media briefing.
She told Newzroom Afrika that Masemola and Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner Nomthetheleli Mene had promised to protect her and her children while investigating her complaints.
Pictured above: A screen grab of Chris Hani herdwoman Vuyokazi Mbingeleli addressing a Police media briefing at PRD Building in Mthatha on Sunday.
Source: Supplied.
