THEY narrate the incident which they said they received from Prasa company security guards on trains traveling between Mlaza and the city of Thekwini.
Tell them It is a country that it is now in my throat to be beaten like little children.
They say this depresses them and makes them realize that they are not respected on the trains, rather they are taken lightly.
The first one to talk toOf this country It was Mr. Khanyisani Ndlela who said that Prasa security guards had been threatening to eat him raw for the past few weeks, accusing him of causing noise on the train.
He said he doesn’t know now if it is heaven on the trains where silence is required and no talking until the destination is reached. He said that what is happening on the trains recently is going to talk to the crows.
”It would have been better if they started by reprimanding me even when I was just talking to someone who was sitting next to me. I saw two men coming towards me and they stopped me and pushed me and when I asked what happened they told me that they are tired of me making noise, they will not even reprimand an old man like me,” he explained.
He said that when he asked them what happened, he saw the stars and then slapped him and cried on his face, and it dawned on him that he was born to a dog in the house.
Mr Mpathi Hlengwa said that they beat him last year and even sprayed him with pepper spray. He said the conflict started after they had been trying to mediate for someone who was caught preaching and is no longer allowed.
“Even if he had sinned, it was not appropriate for them to fight him and beat him that way. When we tried to mediate, they beat us too,” he said.
Another, Mr. Zwelakhe Nxumalo, complained that the security guards were showing him walking with his daughter, arguing with him and beating him, accusing him of eating on the train. He said it had been a while since he last boarded a train and that’s why he didn’t know the new rules.
Even so, he said they should not have slapped him. He complained a lot that the guards on these trains seem to be simple-minded people who do not respect the elderly.
”I see everything that they did like that in front of my daughter, that’s the only thing that hurt me emotionally. This thing bores me badly,” he said.
He said the incident happened three weeks ago. Because of this, he swore and asserted that he will never put his mind to the railways again.
It is a country it also listened to the recorded voice of Ms. Thandolwethu Memela crying bitterly because the security guards took her down to Mbilo complaining that they do not understand her and she keeps tapping her mobile phone endlessly.
”It’s sad because they cheated on me and my husband. I don’t know what to do with those two brothers that they even took me out and told me to go down to Mbilo. It would be better if they answered me what to do just because of the phone,” he said. He was riding a train from Durban to Mlaza.
He said they were pulling him hard by the arm and telling him that it would not last him. He can be heard crying saying that they are fed up with the fact that his mobile phone is making noise, disturbing other passengers.
Another passenger, who asked not to be named, said that last month he was also called for causing noise and was dropped off at Mbilo, where they threatened him with a gun in the air.
Mr. Abner Phewa, who is in charge of the company’s security guards, asked for questions to be sent to his email so that he can discuss this matter properly with the communications department. He changed that and said that he is asking the reporter to come to their offices today at 10 am. He said it is not easy for them to fully respond to this issue yesterday.