Nicolette Dirk
A CLAREMONT grandmother says she is lucky to be alive after she was robbed before being flung from a moving minibus taxi.
Jamiela Patel became the second victim in two days to survive a brutal taxi-related robbery in the city.
After Friday’s attack in Wynberg, the 61-year-old was left with a badly bruised face, a broken eyebrow bone and cheekbone, and the need for costly facial surgery.
Two days earlier, a Sea Point woman was abducted and robbed by two men posing as the driver and guard of a minibus taxi.
Patel’s ordeal started on the way to Wynberg after she boarded a taxi in Main Road, Claremont.
“Only the driver and a young girl were in the taxi when I got in. The girl sat in the three-seater next to me and I felt her scrutinising me in a suspicious way from the moment I got into the taxi,” said Patel.
The female passenger tried to distract Patel with small talk, but she became aware of her grave situation when the taxi diverted from the route to Wynberg and headed up a quiet road in Kenilworth.
“The driver then turned around and yanked my gold chain from my neck while he was driving.
“He told the girl in the taxi to ‘do it now’, which I didn’t understand at the time,” Patel recalled.
When the driver grabbed her bag, a struggled ensued. Patel said she was flung out of the moving taxi by the driver’s female accomplice.
During her fall, Patel hit the left side of her face on the pavement, but guarding her face with her arms lessened the impact.
“Everything happened so quickly. I don’t know where I got the strength to get up and look for help. With blood running down my face, I tried to get the attention of vehicles driving past, but no one stopped.”
One of the residents in the street saw what happened to Patel and came to her assistance. Despite her severe injuries, Patel was still able to give her rescuers her daughter’s contact details.
Gaironesa Esack, Patel’s daughter, who is a flight attendant for SAA, was boarding a flight to Johannesburg when she received news of what had happened.
Esack said she rushed to her mother’s side at Groote Schuur Hospital, but when she saw the extent of damage to her mother’s face, she burst out crying.
“I am just thankful she is alive. I feel very angry because these criminals left my mother for dead. They cannot get away with this and I hope they get caught.”
Police did not reply over Patel’s attack by deadline.