Nawaal Botha (50), who resides in Hanover Park, describes a terrifying incident that occurred after gangsters petrol bombed her council flat in Athburg Walk.
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According to the Daily Voice, the incident occurred shortly before 4am on Monday morning, leaving Botha deeply traumatised.
The shaken woman said, ‘I was awake with my daughter’s baby in their room.’
‘I just heard a loud bang, it was the first petrol bomb they threw on the roof but I thought it was a rock.’
‘When I peeped, the second one came through the window in the lounge. Luckily the burning cloth fell out and nothing burned, the glass of the bottle and petrol were everywhere.’
Despite their panic, Botha’s 48-year-old husband acted swiftly to extinguish the small fire.
‘We panicked because there were a lot of women in the house but my husband quickly killed the fire,’ Botha adds.
Despite the minimal damage to her flat, Botha remains perplexed by the motive behind the attack.
‘We don’t know why we were targeted because we are not involved in the wrong things.’
‘There is only one man in the house and that is my husband, he only goes to work.’
‘I don’t know what the motive was. I do have a son that was in jail before but he has since moved to Piketberg.’
According to her, the petrol bombing has left her 14-year-old daughter deeply traumatised.
Botha said, ‘This child doesn’t want to sleep here, or be in the room it it’s dark. My grandchildren also had to go sleep with their father’s family.’
‘It is sad that people want to burn you and there are kids in the house, but I’m happy I saw the one suspect. He must point everyone out to the police.’
Despite filing a case with the Philippi SAPS, the frustrated woman has received no response to her inquiries for comments by the deadline.
Botha further explains, ‘Despite providing my statement, they assured me they would send a detective, yet I am still awaiting any progress.’
In a similar incident last October, a Hanover Park family narrowly escaped a terrifying petrol bomb attack. Jasmine Daniels (53) recounted the persistent threats from gangsters targeting her family, with her appeals for police assistance going unanswered.
A week ago, concerned residents from Hanover Park engaged with Police Minister Bheki Cele and SAPS management during a police izimbizo. Kashiefa Mohammed, spokesperson for the Philippi Community Policing Forum, reports a surge in shooting incidents following the izimbizo.
She states, ‘There have been daily shootings. Crime rates have escalated significantly since the izimbizo, with six attempted murders and two fatal shootings.’
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