I am at a loss for words! I cannot for the life of me even begin to understand how anybody can drag another human being behind him on a quad bike, let alone a child. This is absolutely reprehensible! I understand that the man may have gotten a fright when his daughter started crying and over reacted, however having said that, it is my opinion that he lost total control and that is always an extremely dangerous situation to be in!
The next question, that begs to be asked of course is - why have the police not arrested the man? Again this seems to be a "lack of interest" on upholding the law. The police in recent months seem to have come under fire from every angle, yet there does not seem to be any visible attempt to rectify the situation. They just seem to carry on down their own little pathway.
I think we all need to take cognizance of what is happening around us and stand together as a nation, and in this way force the government to re-look at the crime situation and the reaction of the police and find some sort of solution that will benefit all concerned.
Regards
Nikki
Graeme Hosken October 17 2006 at 04:41AM
A Pretoria boy was dragged kicking and screaming next to a quad bike for nearly 300m, allegedly by a tow-truck driver, in an attack which has sparked outrage in a local suburb. Adding to the furore is the fact that the man, said to have "wanted to teach the boys a lesson", has yet to be arrested. Tumi Rakomane, 11, was playing with his friends Lushaanh Holworthy, 12, and Alan Kola, 12, on Sunday near Kwaggasrand Shopping Centre when they came under attack. The three had been throwing stones in an open area opposite the centre in Inner Crescent when the daughter of the tow-truck driver, who cannot be named, screamed for her father.
It is believed that she may have been hit by a stone. Chasing the boys on his quad bike, the man cornered Lushaanh and Alan near the shopping complex. He allegedly began smacking and hitting them repeatedly in the face before tearing after Tumi, who tried to hide in a block of flats. Grabbing him by the neck and his shirt, the man apparently smacked Tumi in the face before zig-zagging over pavements and the street while holding him by his neck. Tumi, who was eventually rescued by an older friend, was visibly traumatised when he spoke to the Pretoria News on Monday, did not know what was happening.
"The man came racing out of his house on his bike and chased after us. I saw him hit and punch Lushaanh and Alan. "I tried to hide but he found me and dragged me down the stairs, kicking me in the back and stomach. "He kept on telling me he was going to teach me a lesson. He said he was going to hurt me and make me bleed," said Tumi.
Lushaanh and Alan, whose faces were swollen where they had been hit, said they were scared."We did not see the girl. We did not know what was happening. "The man really hurt us. He kept on hitting us even when we tried to say sorry. "He would not listen. We tried to say that we did not know why the girl was crying, but he kept on hitting and punching us," said Lushaanh.
A resident who witnessed the incident said the man had been like a "wild animal". "He was hitting and punching the children and dragged one of them like a rag doll. "It was insane. I have never seen anything like this," he said. Lushaanh's stepfather Enver Klow said he could not understand how a person could hit someone else's child. "Surely if you see a child being naughty you call their parents; you don't go and beat the kid," he said. Lushaanh's mother Imelda said she was furious that the man had not been arrested.
"The police have blatantly lied to me. First they told me that they had locked him up, but now they have turned around and said that he is still free. That means people can assault children left, right and centre and get away with it. "It is ridiculous and something needs to be done to stop child abuse like this, especially when police keep on saying that fighting child abuse is one of their top priorities," she said.
Police spokesperson Inspector Paul Ramaloko confirmed the attack, saying that a case of common assault had been opened. Ramaloko said no one had been arrested, "but investigations are continuing".
This article was originally published on page 1 of Pretoria News on October 17, 2006
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