| LUCKY TO BE ALIVE |  |  |  |
Dubani-wa-Dubani
Recently a mother of two, Ivy Medupi of Palla Road, was attacked by a man who threatened her with rape and robbed her minutes after getting off a bus on which she had travelled from Mahalapye to Palla Road.
Here she tells the story of her brave fight and escape from her assailant. She spoke to The Voice last Thursday; just three days after the arrest of the man she believes attacked her.“I got off the bus in the evening. While on the bus I had sent my cousins a text message asking them to meet me at the bus top and had phoned when I got off the bus. They said they were on their way so I decided to walk and meet them on the way since it is a short distance from the bus stop to the first homesteads. As I walked through the gate of fence that separates the village from the road I noticed a man coming towards me. I thought it was one of my cousins but when we got nearer to each other I realized he was a stranger. I noticed he was holding a white pipe and became apprehensive but relaxed when he greeted me nicely and asked me if I had left anybody at the bus stop saying a friend had asked him to meet him there. I told him I had left nobody there. He thanked me and continued his walk. I called after him close the gate, which I had found open. When I looked back I saw him close the gate and seemed to make his way to the bus stop.
“Suddenly I was fighting for my life. The man had silently come from behind me, got his white pipe over my head, onto my throat and was strangling me. Instinctively I grabbed at the pipe that was cutting my air supply and fought hard for free myself. I do not think I screamed because my focus was on fighting off this beast and saving my life. We wrestled for some time and I eventually tripped and fell to the ground with him on top of me. It was at this point that I realized he would overpower me and I pretended to give up the fight in the hope that he would think he had overpowered me and relax his grip. He fell for the rouse. The little air that I got when he relaxed his murderous hold onto my throat revived me and I blindly kicked out catching him between the legs. The kick made him stand up and drop his pipe. I managed to stand up too.
“As we got up he grabbed my hand and prevented me from running away. When I realized I would not get away yet, I decided to talk to him in the hope that someone would come along while I was talking to him and rescue me from my ordeal. As I thought he was after my bag which had my cell phone, jewelry and P17 000 and asked him why he did not get what he wanted from me without hurting me.
“In response he said: ‘If you want me to get what I want without harming you let’s get behind that bush and have sex. If you resist I am going to kill you and then have sex with you.’
“I told him he would have to kill me first and he said he had no problem with that as he had killed others like me and had sex with their corpses. He said this in a casual yet menacing way that I realized I had to keep him talking if I was to have any chance of escaping or being rescued by a passerby. I asked him if he had a woman of his own and he said he had a wife back at the cattle post where he lives but did not feel like having sex with her but me. He added that he was taking me back to the cattle post with him. As I told him that that was not going to happen he bent as if to pick up something. I thought he was going to pick up a rock and hit me. His grip on my hand had been loosening as we spoke and as he bent down I freed myself and ran away as fast as I could shouting out for help. He did not chase after me because people from nearby homesteads responded to my call. When I looked back I saw him grab my handbag and a plastic bag, which I had dropped during our scuffle and run into the bush.
“When the first of those who heard and responded to my cries got to me he had disappeared. My throat and arms were bruised but I was happy to be alive.
“I am glad the man has been caught and I hope he will get the punishment he deserves.
“I was quite scared during the whole fight but I somehow managed to keep calm. I guess this is because my desire to live and not surrender to possible rape were stronger than his physical might. I guess the experience of fighting boys while growing up and herding goats in Serowe also helped. These fights made me realize while still young that I could stand up against a man in a fight.
“This attack has also taught me not to take anything for granted. Until then I had thought Palla Road to be a safe place. I also urge other woman to do their best not to go anywhere at night unaccompanied. It is dangerous out there and until it happened to me I never seriously thought I could be attacked.”
Meanwhile, Mahalapye Police Station Commander Superintendent Neo Kedumetsi has confirmed that a man has been arrested in connection with Medupi’s alleged assault and robbery and is likely to be taken before court soon.
