×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

Watch | White couple attack Bloemfontein woman in an apparent road rage incident

A Bloemfontein woman is in shock after she was assaulted by a white couple in an apparent road range incident.

Thobekile Mbhele was driving along Dan Pienaar in Bloemfontein when she stopped at a traffic light after passing a red Volvo SUV about 11.30am on Sunday.

“My window was down at that stage. A car came and stopped behind me and I saw a white man coming out of the vehicle. I did not think anything about it because I had not done anything wrong. I did not close my window. I actually thought he was stepping out of the vehicle to look at a tyre or something,” Mbhele said.

“He walked towards my window and started chocking me and punching me. He then left. As he left, I started taking a video of what was happening. His wife, who was driving, saw that I was taking a video and got out of the car and came to attack me as well. She tried to force me to drive away by fiddling with my car key.”

Mbhele said the man also returned and asked her if she wanted more of the beating and attacked her again.

She spoke to Sowetan on her way to the hospital as her jaw was aching from the beating and had bruises on her neck. Mbhele said during the assault the couple was speaking Afrikaans, hence she was not able to understand what they were angry about.

“I still have no idea what provoked the couple. My parents believe I probably did not drive correctly and was not aware of it. I was in shock and struggled to make sense of what they were saying. One white woman tried to ask them to stop, and the driver simply said ‘I can't believe that you are on her side’. That is all I was able to make sense of,” she said.

Taking the video somewhat helped Mbhele as she was able to get the registration of the vehicle and her friend recognised the woman who attacked her as a deputy principal at a local primary school.

Mbhele has opened a case at the Parkweg police station in Bloemfentein. She is unsure whether the incident was road rage or just a racial attack.

“I actually don’t know. I just don’t understand why they would come out of a car and attack me like that. Even if I had made a mistake on the road, they should have stopped me from leaving and called the police.”

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.