DURBAN - Zinhle Mchunu thought it a joke when her wig was set alight by her boss’s son, but then her feet were doused with petrol and set alight.
She now bears the scars of the incident at her workplace.
Mchunu, 31, is unable to walk unaided and her 28-year-old assailant has been arrested on an attempted murder charge.
He will appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court tomorrow, said police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbhele.
The suspect’s father said Mchunu’s injuries were accidental and he was prepared to compensate her.
Zinhle Mchunu tells of her excruciating experience. Video: Nkululeko Nene
Cosatu led a protest outside the business premises in Dr Pixley Kaseme (West) Street on Friday. Before the action, a Cosatu delegation led by provincial secretary Edwin Mkhize and Human Settlements MEC Ravi Pillay visited Mchunu at her Newlands home.
Mchunu said she initially laughed off the burnt hair but then when she was working at the back of a bakkie he poured petrol on the ground and set it alight.
“It happened so quickly. A big flame leapt onto my feet. I jumped and tried to douse the flames but my skin was badly burnt.”
Mchunu said the pain had been excruciating. She said the man had helped her put out the flames and had apologised. He also took her to a pharmacy to buy pain killers and a gel.
“Panicking, he pleaded with me not to tell my family and his father he was responsible for the injury. I didn’t pay much attention because I was in pain. I told him to take me to a hospital.”
She said that at hospital he told a doctor her socks had caught alight from a burning cigarette.
Mchunu said she told the man’s father a few days later. She said he had been initially supportive and encouraged her to lay charges, but later changed his mind and threatened legal action.
The father said: “I’m not feeling well. I’m stressed. My son told me it was an accident. I asked my lawyer to work it out.”