A DURBAN woman is seeking justice after failure by police to arrest a man who she says physically assaulted her in August.
This after the start of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign, which runs from November 25 (International Day of No Violence against Women) to December 10.
The theme for 2021 is, The Year of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke – moving from awareness to accountability.
Vaneshrie Mariah, 42, a former retail manager, is seeking accountability for her “near-death experience” and claims police have failed her.
Mariah claimed she had given Wentworth police her statement and provided them with CCTV footage of the August 26 incident.
Last Thursday when she called a detective, she said, she was told the supplied address of the accused was incorrect. She was told a warrant for the man’s arrest had not been signed.
She claimed she had been involved in a dispute over a loan of R30 000 she had taken eight years ago.
The accused was a close relative. He had driven to Durban from Gauteng on the day of the assault.
“I gave him R15 000. When I lost my job in 2020, he told me don’t worry about that money,” she said.
“Senior police officers at the station watched the video. Last week, I asked the detective if the police were waiting for him to come back to kill me before they helped me.
“He allegedly did this to his wife. Last month he was allegedly arrested in Gauteng for a similar offence. How many other women are in my shoes and the alleged perpetrators are still roaming free?”
CCTV footage from her home shows a man parking his vehicle outside her driveway gate. A person who accompanies him apparently draws a firearm from under his T-shirt. He passes the firearm over the bonnet of the car to the man. When the man realises the gate is locked he apparently climbs over a neighbour’s pre-cast fence.
In the footage, the man allegedly pulls her hair and slaps her. He climbs over the fence to leave. They begin pointing fingers at one another. The audio is on mute in the video supplied.
The man apparently climbs back over the fence into the yard. He allegedly pulls her and drops her to the ground. He apparently holds a firearm in his right hand.
While she is on the ground he allegedly strikes her twice on her head with the firearm and kicks her. He can be seen walking away, then turns around, and allegedly stamps on her head three times.
Mariah claims she was not offered counselling or emotional support from police.
Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said Wentworth police are probing a case of assault.
Daily News