NEWS & ANALYSIS

"MamaPower! Desperate Lindeni grabs a panga to save herself from son's attack!" - Daily Sun

The front page and lead story of SA's largest daily newspaper, July 12 2013

Daily Sun (July 12 2013)- HE gets drunk, beats her up and insults her, and once tried to strangle her. But this time Lindeni Zaca wasn't going to put up with her abusive son . . . WHEN HE GRABBED HER, THE TERRIFIED MOTHER CHOPPED HIM WITH A PANGA!

And now 36-year-old Mbekiseni Zaca is in hospital fighting for his life with cuts to his head and arms. The 56-year-old mother from Qutshini in Impendle, KZN, told Daily Sun her son has been abusive and rebellious for years.

Last Saturday he came home late after boozing at the local tavern and tried to break down his mother's door. "He was shouting and calling me a useless bitch," said Lindeni. "When he finally forced me to open the door he slapped me and we wrestled. He shoved me to the ground and in desperation I grabbed the panga. I didn't want to harm him but I knew he was going to kill me if I didn't strike back," said Lindeni.

Neighbours and the local induna from Qutshini told how how Mbekiseni always abused his mother when he was drunk. They also accused him of stealing their chickens. "I have found him guilty of all these charges," said the induna, Stezi Khumalo.

"He is a thief and an abuser and should be taken away by social workers. He should be locked away because there is no peace in his presence," said a neighbour. "That boy had been a bully from a young age."

Lindeni told Daily Sun the last time she and her son clashed he tried to throttle her but she managed to overpower him. "I still love him because he is my son," said Lindeni. "I've been living in hell with him but I always believed he would change. He blames everything on alcohol."

The unhappy mother said she once reported Mbekiseni to the cops, but they let him go after a few days. "The ancestors are angry with us. Sangomas have been telling me that Mbekiseni needs rituals because the ancestors are sitting on top of him," she said. "He is not looking for work and doesn't have a girlfriend. I wish he would get a job, get married and give me grandchildren but he is busy with booze. "He has turned me into the laughing stock of the area."

Mbekiseni is in intensive care at Wentworth Hospital, Durban. Police Captain Thulani Zwane said no case had been opened.

See the Daily Sun mobi site for more on this and other stories....

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