Mahalapye elder left for dead in vicious burglary

'We fear she might lose both legs!' neighbour A 69-year-old Mahalapye woman might never walk again after five thieves broke into her home in the middle of the night and viciously attacked her as she lay in bed. Police suspect the intruders took turns hacking away at the old lady’s legs with an axe, using such force that they almost chopped both legs clean off. “There was so, so much blood,” revealed a police source. Almost two weeks after the terrifying attack, which occurred on Friday 16 October, the elder remains at Sidilega Private Hospital, where surgeons are desperately trying to save her mutilated limbs. According to police sources, one of the woman’s legs was badly broken while the other was cut so severely it remained attached to her body by the thinnest sinew of flesh. “We fear she might lose both legs!” admitted a neighbour. The old lady, a prominent businessperson in the town, lived alone in Mowana ward after the death of her husband. Although it is said she could not identify her attackers as they covered their faces, the cops have since arrested five neighbours – four men and a women – in connection with the incident. The youthful suspects: Juniors Makabe, 23, Obuile Leina, 22, Segolame Batlhomphi, 25, Tshepo Lemogang, 31, and the only female, 23-year-old Aone Lopang, appeared before Mahalapye Magistrates Court last Tuesday. Charged with armed robbery, all five were remanded in custody. Describing the suspects as ‘gangsters’, Mahalapye Station Commander, Omphile Malemenyane told The Voice his officers arrived to find ‘a bedroom coated in blood’. “We were called to the scene by neighbours who had in turn been called by the victim. I can confirm that we are currently handling and investigating a matter in which a 69-year-old was attacked by a mob of gangsters in her home. The attackers got away with cash amounting to 3, 900 Pula,” said Malemenyane. The top cop was reluctant to go into detail on the extent of the old lady’s injuries, commenting simply, “We can only say she was badly injured on her legs.” A neighbour and friend who was one of the first on the scene, revealed the victim had recently voiced her fear of living alone. “In the week prior to the event, we had been attending another funeral in Mahalapye where an old woman was murdered by attackers in her home. She had always been telling us that she was fearful of sleeping alone and so when I was awakened by sirens on the night I didn’t know what to think,” said the neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous. The family also confirmed the incident but declined to share more details and requested The Voice refrain from publishing the old woman’s name. Meanwhile, police in Mahalapye are yet to make any arrests following the murder of a 74-year-old woman on 5th October. The lady was attacked and stabbed to death in her home, with the bandits making away with P2, 500.

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Mahalapye elder left for dead in vicious burglary

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