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Makhado's municipal manager, Mr Sakkie Mutshinyali.

Attack leaves municipal manager shaken up

Date: 05 March 2015 By: Andries van Zyl

The Makhado Municipality, through its spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi, this week confirmed that municipal manager, Mr Sakkie Mutshinyali, is still trying to get to grips with what he can only describe as a failed attempt on his life a fortnight ago.

According to information available to the Zoutpansberger, the attempt occurred late on the afternoon of Saturday, 21 February. Being fond of the farming life, Mutshinyali stays on a homestead near the Cloud's End Hotel just outside Louis Trichardt. He believes in living an active life and frequently goes jogging in the afternoons. His decision to do so on that day changed his life forever.

Mutshinyali granted the Zoutpansberger an interview on Monday regarding the events of that fateful day. It was not easy for him to talk about it. “When people focus their eyes on you to eliminate you, you do not feel comfortable,” Mutshinyali said. He acknowledged, however, that the incident should be reported upon.

In the days leading up to the attempt on his life, numerous people reported spotting a suspicious-looking black VW Golf slowly frequenting the farm roads in the area. “On the evening of the 20th, I drove back to town to pick up my child from school. About 600m from my home, I also spotted the Golf, which was driving very slowly. When we reached the N1, he turned left and I turned right,” Mutshinyali said.

The following day, Mutshinyali had to attend a funeral in the morning, returning home in the afternoon. Just after 17:00, he decided to go for a jog. “At the curve in the road at Willie Scheepers' farm, I saw a neatly dressed man, obviously not a farm worker, walking. He asked me if he could get access to Willie’s compound to get water as his car had overheated. I showed him the gate,” Mutshinyali said. The man went in to collect water, while Mutshinyali continued on his jog, passing the suspicious Golf parked next to the road.

“As I came back, I saw that the car was still parked there and thought to myself that I should at least stop and assist,” Mutshinyali said. At that stage, there were five people at the car - Mutshinyali, the owner of the Golf and three of Scheepers’ farm workers.

“I asked the man what the problem was and he indicated that his vehicle was overheating. When I asked him where it was overheating, he pointed to the bottom of the car. That did not make sense. If the car had overheated, he would have pointed to the radiator in front of the engine,” Mutshinyali said.

Mutshinyali got suspicious and asked the man where he was really going when Mutshinyali first spotted him. “He told me he was looking for this guy who works for the municipality and gives tenders, indicating that he was sent there by a woman,” Mutshinyali said.

Immediately when the man told him this, two more men appeared from the bushes next to the road. They were also neatly dressed and clearly not farm workers. Mutshinyali said he thought that they would pass by, but the two men stopped at the car. They were now seven people.

At that stage, Mutshinyali was still in conversation with the man he had initially spotted, trying to find out who had sent him and what he meant by “the guy giving tenders”. He told the man that if he wanted a tender, he should go to the municipality and follow procedure. During their conversation, one of the two men who had come from the bushes continuously interrupted the conversation. “I ended up asking the guy what his problem was,” said Mutshinyali.

The moment Mutshinyali asked the man this, he turned around, opened the rear door of the Golf, took out a handgun and cocked it. At that stage, Mutshinyali was not even standing a metre away from the man. “He swore and pointed the firearm at me,” Mutshinyali said.

Mutshinyali and the farm workers immediately ran for cover into the bushes. “I did not look back. The only thing I wanted to do was to get as far away as possible from the men. I am a 50-year-old man who had just run six kilometres and I was tired,” Mutshinyali said.

Mutshinyali made his way back to his home, from where he alerted the police. “I must thank the police. They were there within 20 minutes,” Mutshinyali said. By that time, however, the suspects had already fled the scene.

Mutshinyali, a deeply religious man, afterwards reflected on the day's events. “If he had had the intention to kill me, he could have. Maybe it was an intervention from God. I cannot explain why he did not shoot me. Maybe they wanted to kidnap me but realised there were too many eyewitness. The farmworkers' presence really saved my life,” Mutshinyali said. Later he heard that the farm workers had decided to walk back with the man who had asked them for water as they became suspicious when they saw a huge knife strapped to the man's waist. “When they asked him what it was for, he said he used it to eat apples,” Mutshinyali said.

Mutshinyali said he was overwhelmed by the support he received from the community after the attack. This, he said, was a real eye-opener. “My house was full of white people, by number more than the police, wanting to protect me,” Mutshinyali said. He had high regard for the quick and professional way the farm watch responded and the selfless effort they made to secure his safety. He also had praise for his fellow congregation members of the Agapé Church, especially pastor Grant and his wife, who consoled and supported him after the attack. “Thank you, also, Susan Coroto and Marika de Villiers. They immediately went into prayer for me,” Mutshinyali said.

Mutshinyali also thanked Mayor David Mutavhatsindi. “He phoned every two hours to find out how I was doing,” Mutshinyali said. Support also streamed in from members of the ANC’s regional and provincial committee.

“To all the people who consoled and supported me, I would like to thank you. I feel like I have joined a good family,” Mutshinyali said.

The Makhado police confirmed the incident last week, stating that they had opened a case of the pointing of a firearm. By the time of our going to press, it was not known if any arrests with regard to the case had been made. In the meantime, security measures in the Cloud's End area have been intensified. “Extra precautions are being taken by both the farm watch and the police,” Mutshinyali said. 

 
 
 

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

 
 

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