A Mitchells Plain mother’s prayers were answered when her teenage son regained consciousness following an attack during Guy Fawkes celebrations on Tuesday.
Chadwin Mondo, 13, was struck on the head with a brick by an unknown assailant while playing in the street in Heinz Park.
His mother, Angeline Mondo, said she was praying for her son to make a full recovery. However, she remained concerned that he might have sustained brain damage as a result of the attack.
Chadwin has been in and out of consciousness at Groote Schuur Hospital and is breathing on his own after being taken off life support.
Mondo, who is the breadwinner in her family, said she was worried that if further tests and scans revealed any brain damage, she wouldn’t be able to cope with caring for her child.
Chadwin is just one of the victims of violence that occurred on the Cape Flats at the same time as the Guy Fawkes celebrations.
The city council said despite its
best efforts to change the way that
Guy Fawkes is celebrated in certain parts of the city, it has become a “macabre celebration” marred by violent and injuries.
This year’s celebrations were characterised by groups of children attacking one another with rocks, bricks and paint.
Over the years it’s become common for youngsters to fill socks with rocks and stones for use as makeshift weapons of attack on the day.
While hopes were high that the city council’s recent ban on public sites for setting-off fireworks would in part stop the mayhem and violence, the ban did little to dampen the violence.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said he was at his wits’ end because this “misguided tradition”.
“There were numerous reports of marauding youths attacking people and vehicles. The video of the incident in Elsies River, where a man was assaulted by a group of children, is evidence of what plays out year after year in many of our communities,” Smith said.