In South Africa, a horrific attack on a 25-year-old lady named Zizipho Nikita Kalubi culminated in the surgical removal of her severely injured left eye.
The event happened on Saturday, August 26, while Kalubi and her partner were out and about in Somerset West, Cape Town.
When he saw her with her boyfriend, the assailant, an admirer of the victim whom she had met a few times in Khayelitsha Town Two, began harassing her.
Despite her attempts to ignore him, he began making improper comments and catcalls, intensifying his behavior.
“As a young woman, I’m no stranger to harassment from men,” Kalubi said of the scary incident. I tried to brush it off when he started making obscene remarks and said, ‘Hey sexy, I want you,’ and continued walking with my partner.
He even tried to touch me, but I never expected him to be so daring with my boyfriend present. That day, though, he became more aggressive and approached us.”
Recognizing the growing danger, Kalubi’s boyfriend addressed the harasser, pleading with him to leave her alone.
They resumed their stroll, but the attacker resurfaced shortly afterward, much to their horror. He smacked Kalubi in the face with a brick this time, causing her to lose consciousness.
Kalubi recalled waking up later and discovering she had been admitted to Khayelitsha Hospital. She was then taken to Tygerberg Hospital for additional treatment.
Her left eye was seriously damaged and had to be surgically removed, according to the medical evaluation at Tygerberg. She was also informed that her nose had been shattered during the assault.
Concerned for her daughter’s health, Kalubi’s mother sought a second opinion at Somerset’s Vergelegen Hospital.
Unfortunately, they all came to the same conclusion: her left eye had to be removed. On Tuesday, August 28, she had surgery to remove her left eye.
Kalubi is still recovering from her injuries and awaiting the implantation of a prosthetic eye at the hospital.
