A visitor who was left stranded in the city for almost three months, after he was robbed of all his possessions, stabbed and left for dead, experienced the generosity of city residents who assisted him to return home to Newcastle this week.
A VISITOR who was left stranded in the city for almost three months, after he was robbed of all his possessions, stabbed and left for dead, experienced the generosity of city residents who assisted him to return home to Newcastle this week.
Msongelwa Tshabalala said he travelled to Kimberley on June 25 to visit his cousin.
“Upon my arrival, I was robbed of all my belongings including the clothes on my back and my cellphone at the information centre. I was only left with my pants. I did not have any means of contacting my family back home as I had not memorised their cellphone numbers. I was unable to contact or locate my cousin in Kimberley and I was left to sleep on the street,” explained Tshabalala.
He added that he was not able to wash himself and had to resort to begging for food and clothes.
“I am unemployed and I was trying to look for work in Kimberley, but the job market is even more dismal here than it is in Newcastle.”
Tshabalala stated that he was stabbed with a knife at the McGregor Museum in the side of his chest.
“After I was discharged from hospital, I was sleeping in front of the gate at Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital because I had nowhere else to go.”
Community activist Boyce Makodi said that he was contacted by a security guard at the hospital about Tshabalala, whereupon he reached out to members of the public for assistance on Facebook.
“Fortunately a number of Good Samaritans came forward to sponsor his trip back to Newcastle. We also used the donations to get him some clothes, refreshments and a new cellphone. He arrived home safely on September 21.”
A city resident, Cathi Munro, had seen Tshabalala bleeding in the street and decided to stop and help.
“It was a Sunday and I was driving with my mom to my brother’s house when I saw someone who was injured lying on the corner of Atlas Street and Main Road. I noticed that he was alone and saw that he was clutching his chest and was bleeding. While many people are too scared to help, God spoke to me and I decided to turn my car around and I called for an ambulance. My conscience would not allow me to drive past without doing anything. I asked myself what would Jesus have done in this situation,” said Munro.
She added that she decided to buy the person a return ticket home when she saw Makodi’s post on Facebook.
Upon meeting him to hand over the bus ticket this week, Munro recognised Tshabalala as the same person whom she assisted after he was stabbed.
“I am glad that Tshabalala can be reunited with his family.”
Another city resident, Jacob Tshabalala, also attempted to locate Msongelwa’s relatives in Kimberley and went to the hospital to look for him.
“We share the same surname and he could be family, who knows?” Jacob joked.
He said that he was not able to trace the family, although there were only a handful of Tshabalalas living in Kimberley.
Jacob also allowed him to have a bath before he travelled back to Newcastle on Tuesday afternoon.
