[imagesource: Facebook / Ledimo Thato]

A video has gone viral showing a lone man fighting off criminals in Klerksdorp, North West, with a knife and a whole lot of gumption.

The video shows the men attempting to either rob the victim or hijack his white SUV in the Klerksdorp CBD opposite the Home Affairs offices on Wednesday.

But the man, brandishing his knife, isn’t having any of it, courageously fighting back and eventually frightening the would-be thieves off with a wild yell and lunge.

Thato Ledimo recorded the incident and it’s her voice you hear in the video doing the rounds on social media:

This apparently happened in Klerksdorp CBD in North West. Very brave man fighting back and defending himself and I assume his family in the car. pic.twitter.com/dbYli1tDQN

— Ian Cameron (@IanCameron23) July 20, 2022

It reminds me of the countless times I’ve been out on the streets alone, psyching myself up to fight with the exact kind of body language that the man displays. Although, thankfully, I’ve never actually needed to do anything as real and as urgent.

In the aftermath, TimesLIVE reported that the knife-wielding man is not willing to open a case with the police:

Police spokesperson Col Adéle Myburgh told TimesLIVE that officers were able to identify the victim from the video and have traced him to open a case, but he has refused.

“Sadly, this is the second incident where the complainant refused to open a case. In a similar incident in May, the complainant also refused to open a case even though the suspects who allegedly robbed him were identified,” Myburgh said.

Provincial Commissioner Lt-Gen Sello Kwena has urged the community to take out cases to “ensure perpetrators are identified and brought to book”.

The police have also promised more patrols and visibility in the Klerksdorp CBD.

Meanwhile, Ledimo is on the receiving end of a threatening backlash for standing by and filming the incident, per another TimesLIVE report:

“I fear for my life and that of my family. I’m receiving threats on Messenger. People are telling me where I live, where my husband works and that they know everything about me,” she said.

In one of the texts written in Setswana, the writer tells her that they know where her husband works, and she should tell him to stop parking his vehicle outside his workplace. In another text (also written in Setswana), the texter says they have noticed that she is now an investigating officer and they will deal with her.

Having taken the video to create “awareness” that the area is a known criminal hotspot, she is glad to see local police are now doing more frequent patrols.

Hopefully, the police can also protect her from any cyberbullies who might be considering taking things further.

[sources:timeslive&timeslive]