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- SPCA cadet inspector Nkosi Sindiwe escaped a hijacking incident in Khayelitsha on Tuesday night.
- The attackers handcuffed him and shoved him into the back of a marked SPCA vehicle.
- But he threw himself out of the vehicle while it was in motion.
Even though he was hijacked at gunpoint and handcuffed in the back of a bakkie, all that Cape of Good Hope SPCA cadet inspector Nkosi Sindiwe could think about were the animals that need to be rescued in the future.
"I tried saving the car because the SPCA desperately needs it to rescue animals, but it didn't work," he recalled about the harrowing experience.
Even when he was forced to give in to their demands, one of the first thoughts that entered his mind in the back of the vehicle was that he was glad he had no animals on board.
"I only had to think of how to save myself," he said.
Sindiwe was on his way home on Tuesday night when six gunmen ambushed him in Khayelitsha
"I was driving in Khayelitsha at around 19:30 when two vehicles blocked the road - one in the front and one behind me - and six armed men appeared.
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"Two of them were on each side of the vehicle, and they banged on the window with a gun. I had to open the door or they would've shot me," Sindiwe said.
Reluctantly, he switched off the ignition and complied.
"I turned off the vehicle because I knew they couldn't start it without the transponder tag to override the immobiliser system. I tried saving the car because the SPCA desperately needs it to rescue animals," he said.
But it didn't work.
"They pointed the gun at me again, and I had to show them how to start the bakkie," he added.
The attackers took his wallet and cellphone before handcuffing him, shoving him in the back of the vehicle and driving off.
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"I was scared for my life but glad that there were no animals in my vehicle, and I only had to think of how to save myself," Sindiwe said.
At a stage during the ride, instinct kicked in.
Sindiwe positioned himself in such a way that he was able to kick the bakkie's tailgate and canopy lock with all his might.
It eventually gave way. He threw himself from the moving vehicle and ran, injured from the fall, as he screamed for help.
A good Samaritan driving by heard his cries for help and stopped, SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham said.
"The man put Sindiwe into his car and drove him to the closest police station. He also let our cadet inspector use his cellphone to call our after-hours emergency number.
Abraham said:
Police officers at the Harare police station managed to remove the handcuffs.
"He was taken to hospital for treatment [to] a badly injured knee," Abraham added.
The marked vehicle was discovered just after 22:00 on Tuesday between informal settlements in the area.
Although Sindiwe has taken some time off to recover from the ordeal, he wants to return to work "real soon" because the animals need him.
"This horrible incident won't stop me. I know animals need me, and I will continue to go wherever they need help despite what happened to me," he said,
Abraham added: "Even though the ordeal has been very traumatic for our cadet inspector and us, we are extremely glad Sindiwe is safe and sound."
