Cape Town – A Cape Town woman was brutally attacked and the attacker also attempted to drown her, this happened after an alleged theft of a cellphone. EFF leadership in Western Cape quickly identified the place were the accident took place and confronted management who were refusing to share the footage with the police.
We can confirm that the EFF have watched the footage and they are busy assisting the victim to find justice.
A piece of the assault has been caught on record and has turned into a web sensation via virtual entertainment.
At the posh Savoye restaurant on the Vrede en Lust Wine Estate in Franschhoek, two diners have been charged with assault, attempted murder, property damage, and theft.
After being attacked by another diner at the restaurant in Pearl Valley, Franschhoek, 40-year-old Ntombizodwa Sephoko from Philippi said she was traumatized and had scars that would last forever.
According to her, the incident occurred on April 16 while she and a friend were looking into the restaurant as a potential location for a birthday party.
Additionally, they had reserved the lunch location.
I’m a regular at the restaurant, so this wasn’t my first visit. I went with my friend that day because she was going to host the birthday of her child and needed to see the venue first.
“I picked up a cellphone upon our arrival, while my friend was shooting content with me in it, and I was attacked as I was about to inquire about its owner.”
In a video that was widely circulated, a man is seen attacking Sephoko inside a swimming pool and threatening to drown her. Sephoko is shown bleeding.
Her top is bloodied as the man is seen attempting to suffocate her.
The attacker’s son and his wife eventually rescued her, separating the man from her. Johan van der Merwe has been identified as the man by her.
Before dragging me and accompanying me into the pool, that man, Johan van der Merwe, repeatedly punched me.
“I assumed I planned to bite the dust that day, nobody acted the hero other than his better half and child who in the long run saw that I was battling to keep above water as he continued to attempt to suffocate me.”
Sephoko said she laid a charge of attempted murder and Van der Merwe clearly laid a charge of burglary against her.
Sephoko received a text message on May 30 from Groot-Drakenstein SAPS informing her that the suspect, Van der Merwe, had been arrested and charged, and that his first court appearance was the following day.
She was also asked to turn herself in at the Groot-Drakenstein police station because Van der Merwe had filed a theft complaint against her.
Clive Windvogel, the assigned detective, stated that the two cases involving Sephoko and Johan van de Merwe remain active.
Windvogel stated that the victim will be informed of the next court date and that he is still awaiting the docket’s return from the court.
Etienne Buys, the proprietor of the Savoye restaurant, stated that he was informed of the incident on April 16, which was a Sunday afternoon lunchtime.
He claimed that he was summoned, and upon entering the restaurant, he observed “three African ladies, one of whom was wet.”
I was informed that the one woman attempted to steal either the gentleman’s wife’s phone or wallet while they were busy praying before lunch. Purportedly the respectable man handled the woman bouncing into the pool.”
Buys responded that the restaurant does not have any CCTV cameras in response to the claim that it refused to provide SAPS with the incident footage.
They have small cameras that rotate in a circle, causing the older footage to be deleted while the newer footage is being recorded.
According to FC van Wyk, a police spokesperson, Sephoko’s case is an attempted murder registered with the Groot Drakenstein SAPS for investigation.
“The complainant (Sephoko) and friends were at a farm in Simondium on April 16, 2023, according to the reported complaint. She (Sephoko) noticed a cellphone on the floor while the accused (Van der Merwe) and a group of people were praying. After that, she took it and waited until the people had finished praying.
“She was attacked by the accused and pushed into the swimming pool when she asked who owned the cellphone.
The accused also jumped in, attempted to drown her, and began to strangle her. The accused wife then joined the effort to divorce the complainant. The suspect was captured”.
According to Van Wyk, Van der Merwe initiated a common assault and malicious property damage case.
The complainant claims that on April 16, 2023, he and his family were on a farm in Simondium. The complainant’s mother-in-law was asked to pray for the food by his family. They then, at that point, saw an obscure female removing something from his better half’s pack. After that, the suspect—Sephoko—pushed him into the pool and slapped him. The accused, Sephoko, then damaged the cellphone of his wife. The suspect (Sephoko) was captured,” Van Wyk said.
Kagiso Themba, an EFF spokesperson who was stationed in the Cape Winelands District, stated that “what we saw in that video is quite disturbing.”
“The continuation of bigotry and the presence of individuals of color in the picture of white individuals as cheats and hooligans should reach a conclusion.”
“I see an attempted murder; it goes beyond the violation of a person’s rights to dignity and access to restaurants to the person’s right to be declared innocent until proven guilty,” says the witness.