Doctor recovers at home after surgery robbed
EAST LONDON doctor Bulelwa Mnyanda is slowly recovering at her home in Vincent Heights after her surgery was robbed within the space of ten minutes on Friday afternoon by two armed men who badly assaulted her.
The incident took place just before 5pm in her Union Street surgery.
Police spokesperson Hazel Mqala said three men were arrested on the weekend.
“There was an operation conducted by the detectives over the weekend who managed to follow up the on the robbery. Three male suspects between ages 35 and 45 were arrested on charges of business robbery. They appeared at the East London court on Monday.”
Recounting the attack, Mnyanda said two thugs entered the surgery demanding money from the receptionists, Lihle Mazaleni, 27, and Nqabakazi Matiwane, 28.
One went to the doctor’s consulting room and instructed her to keep quiet, but she screamed. “I just had a long consultation with one of my clients. After she left I was busy writing a referral letter when I felt someone with a gun on my right side on my neck who instructed me to keep quiet.
“I wouldn’t,” Mnyanda said. Nqabakazi, who has been working at the surgery since 2016, said: “I was busy working on a client’s appointment to go to St Dominic’s hospital when a guy wearing a red cap and hoodie just entered and demanded not to be looked at.
“The experience was so unexpected. I have been feeling down after the incident.”
The other thug pushed the two women into the consulting room and demanded money. They hit the doctor on the head twice and she started bleeding. That is when she showed them where the money was. “I asked them to leave us alone and just take the money,” she said.
Lihle, who started working at the surgery in 2014, said: “They saw doc’s phones and said I must take out the battery. I was forced to the floor and I fell on top of doc.”
After the men took the money, they pushed the three women into the toilet, where they stayed for almost an hour.
Mnyanda said: “When we realised that I was bleeding heavily, one of the ladies went out to check if they had gone. That is when I asked a picture be taken of us so we can post them on Facebook and WhatsApp groups, because no one knew we were being robbed.”
Mnyanda drove herself to St Dominic’s hospital. She was escorted by two police officers. She was in hospital for three days.
She said the surgery had been operating for six years and had never been robbed.
Now she will be beefing up security in her surgery, but said she won’t be moving out. “There is crime everywhere,” she said.
“Yesterday I went to my surgery because if I stay away, psychologically, I will eventually be scared of going back.”
She is still experiencing dizziness, headaches and vomiting from the blood loss and concussion.
The thugs left with an undisclosed amount of money, Mazaleni’s Hisense smartphone and R500 in her purse.
Mnyanda said she is in the process of getting a locum doctor for her clients to assist her while she is recovering at home. —