Ntombiyezwi Zulu, 60, has escaped four rape attempts in the last five months while training for ultra-marathons.
|||Durban -
Ntombiyezwi Zulu, a 60-year-old member of the Zulu royal family, is grateful to be alive after escaping rape four times in the last five months while training for ultra-marathons.
A former professional runner, who has completed nine Comrades Marathons, Zulu said she had lost count of the number of times she has fallen prey to roadside criminals.
The grandmother, a relative of King Goodwill Zwelithini, said she vividly remembers all four recent instances when she had almost been raped by men young enough to be her grandchildren.
As a safety precaution, the KwaMsane, Mtubatuba, grandmother has now had to ask one of her sons, Sthandwa, to accompany her during her 4am training sessions.
“He’s not a runner but I asked him to train with me so I can feel a bit safer,” she said, speaking from her stall where she sells fruits and vegetables.
Zulu, who won the title in her age category in the 10km Zululand District Municipality Marathon last week, has been taking to the roads early in the morning for the past 32 years.
Until recently, she said she had never had any serious encounters while training.
“There’ve been several times where I’ve been robbed of my running shoes or cellphone but I was not harmed,” she said.
The attacks, however, have become increasingly violent in the last five months, where she was forced to “fight and run” for her life.
Recalling the latest incident, Zulu said two gun-wielding teenage boys had attacked and dragged her under a bridge in January. One of the boys had told her he was attracted to her because of her level of fitness.
“He was very vulgar and he described in detail all the sexual things he wanted to do to me,” she said, adding that the other boy had thrown sand in her face when she tried to escape from their clutches.
She managed to escape when a car approached the bridge.
In another attempt, Zulu said she was assaulted for almost an hour by a man who had grabbed her from behind. The suspect had throttled her when she tried fighting back.
“I thought he was going to kill me, but I never stopped fighting,” she said. She eventually managed to free herself and ran to a nearby police station.
A few weeks before this, Zulu was rescued by a security guard when another man threatened to rape her.
In the fourth attack, Zulu was hit on the head with a blunt object. She suffered a minor injury and was saved by a motorist who suspected something was amiss when he saw her surrounded by the three men.
The attacks have left her with several injuries and bruises and she has even contemplated throwing in the towel. “But I’m not a quitter and I certainly won’t allow a few thugs to force me out of the sport. I’ve been running for most of my life and I love it,” she said.
Independent on Saturday