A local cyclist had to flee before a crowd of initiates wielding bricks and a panga. The man, who choose not to be named, went cycling on a jeep track just behind Nasaret, uphill toward the N11, where he found a boma (an outdoor campsite) partly hidden by trees.
He decided to stop some 75 metres from the boma to wait for a friend who fell behind. Juveniles between the ages of 15 and 18 started filing out of the boma, followed by a character in a torn robe and hip-length dreadlocks.
The man shouted something at the initiates who all suddenly charged the cyclist armed with sticks and bricks and a panga. “They charged with feral cries and I decided to turn around and flee in the opposite direction,” he says. One of the older boys however caught up with him, and struck him with a brick on the side of his head.
“Thankfully it was one with a brick,” the cyclist says, remembering the boy close behind his assailant, who was armed with a panga.
At this point his adrenalin was surging and he tells of how he remained surprisingly clear headed despite the strike against the head.
With blood streaming from gashes caused by the brick, he caught up with the fellow cyclist and sped to town.
He says it was an unprovoked and unnecessary attack in a popular area frequented by mountain bikers and off road runners.
“I feel that the SAPS must let cycling and running clubs know where these initiation schools are located so that the areas can be avoided,” says the cyclist who alerted his own club and cycling friends about the danger immediately after the attack.
Making light of what could have been a bloody crime scene, he posted a photo of himself on a stationary exercise bicycle in front of the television in his home, soliciting a few chuckles from those who’ve hit the road with the energetic IT boffin.
He received eight stitches to his ear and two to his face, and wishes to thank Dr Cecil Keys and his team for their professional medical assistance.
The cyclist did not report the matter to police who, through captain Khanyisile Zwane, urged him to do so since he did consult a doctor who can fill the J88 form needed to open an assault charge
South Africa Today – South Africa News
