HE COULD hardly believe the news when his phone rang: his colleague was lying injured on the road – she’d been mauled by a cow, came the words from the other end of the line.
Mzuvukile Mjanyelwa was visiting friends just a few streets from where the incident occurred when he got the alarming phone call. The 53-year-old principal of Ncothi Senior Primary School ran to the scene as fast as his legs could carry him.
And what he found was a scene that still haunts him.
Zininzi Mathethandaba, a teacher at Ncothi Senior Primary School in Qumbu north of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, was lying helplessly on the ground, her blue dress stained red.
Chunks of flesh had been torn from her left leg, blood pooling into the red earth around her.
“She was bleeding severely,” Mzuvukile says. “So much damage had been done – her left leg was severely injured and her bone was exposed. There was a lot of blood.”
Zininzi was attacked by a cow, according to witnesses in the village. A young man had come to her aid after hearing her terrified cries for help. He beat the cow with a stick, scaring the animal and her young calf away.
But by then the cow had already ripped into Zininzi (53). Parts of her lower leg, calf and thigh were scattered on the ground after the cow had apparently spat them out.
It was a chaotic scene, Mzuvukile tells YOU. “We’d never seen anything quite like it – a cow had charged a woman. The whole community has been shaken up by what happened.”
Frantic neighbours tried to find transport to take the badly injured woman to hospital while also being on the lookout for what they deemed to be a dangerous animal.
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 21 January 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye YOU South Africa dergisinin 21 January 2021 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT
The unusual relationship between an heiress and her husband has taken a sinister twist
HOW TO MAKE A SUPERBABY
Noor Siddiqui says her company can test embryos for hundreds of conditions from diabetes to Alzheimer's. Critics call it social engineering but she insists she's just giving prospective parents the means to avoid a lot of future heartache
THE GROWN-UP BRAIN
If you think your brain deteriorates as you age, think again!
THE eyes HAVE IT
They're the windows to our soul - and the first place to show the stresses of everyday life. Juliette Winter reveals expert tips to de-puff, brighten and smooth this delicate area
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
It hasn't been an easy road but now this bodybuilding couple are making waves in the industry
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER!
Annetjie's about to get effective treatment for the skin condition that has blighted her life and she's looking forward to hitting the shops and facing the world
'SHE NO THREAT TO ANYONE'
When SA boxer Chris van Heerden's Russian girlfriend went to visit her parents she was thrown in jail and accused of treasonnow he's in a fight to free her
SUNK IN 16 MINUTES!
A sun-drenched holiday turned into a living nightmare for those aboard this luxury vessel
READY TO SMILE AGAIN
A groundbreaking surgical procedure will restore this Limpopo teen's badly damaged jaw and teeth
HARRY AT A CROSSROADS
As the prince turns 40, royal experts paint a picture of a troubled soul- isolated, homesick and struggling to find a purpose in life