Pumza Fihlani

Pumza Fihlani

Marathon runner Poppy Mlambo has finally taken the advice given her by Soweto police last month and has laid charges against her "abusive" former boyfriend.

Mlambo told Sowetan last month that her ex-boyfriend had threatened to kill her because she had dumped him. Mlambo and the man, whose name is known to Sowetan, had been together since 2000. She said he had abused her for years.

When Sowetan offered to escort Mlambo to a police station to open a case against the jilted lover, who is also a runner, she refused.

She said at the time: "Since I got two restraining orders against him he has left me alone. I don't want to aggravate him by pressing charges."

But yesterday Mlambo was singing a different tune.

She called Sowetan to tell us that she had laid charges. A frantic Mlambo related what led to her reporting the matter.

"I was coming back from gym in Soweto on Tuesday evening. I ran into my ex-boyfriend.

"He was drunk, as he usually is, and began to insult me. When he saw that I was ignoring him he grabbed me by the arm and threatened to hit me."

Mlambo said she was saved from her attacker by policemen who were patrolling the area.

"Once I saw the police van I flagged them down and they stopped. I told them what was happening and they took me to Naledi police station to lay charges."