A KZNEMS paramedic and mother of three, Phumzile Dlamini, 40, was tragically gunned down in an ambush in the Mabhanoyini area, near Estcourt, on Sunday evening, 3 October.
Dlamini and her crewmate responded to a shooting incident in the area, when they were ambushed by heavily armed men. Dlamini was declared dead at the scene of the crime, while her crewmate is fighting for her life in hospital.
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, described the tragic incident as “outrageous, barbaric and cowardly”. Shocked KZNEMS crews from the uThukela District have flooded social media with condolences to Dlamini’s family.
“I have worked with Dlamini and it was always a pleasure as she enjoyed serving the community of Estcourt,” said a paramedic, who requested to remain anonymous. “We are all in a state of shock and can’t believe that one of our own was killed, while trying to assist.”
In a statement, MEC Simelane-Zulu said that the paramedics had already picked up a patient who had sustained a fractured leg, when they had to detour to the home of the wounded man. “After securing him, they suddenly heard gunshots coming from outside. Dlamini, who was an Intermediate Life Support paramedic with 10 years’ service and hailed from Greytown, was hit twice and tragically died at the scene of the crime. Her crewmate sustained three gunshots and was rushed to hospital, where she remains in a critical condition. Cartridges of high-calibre bullets which were found at the scene deepen the mystery of why innocent paramedics found themselves at the receiving end of such untold brutality.”
“None of the gunshots reached the two patients in the bullet-riddled ambulance,” said police.
A deeply concerned and distraught MEC Simelane-Zulu has condemned the incident in the strongest possible terms. She has sent her condolences to the Dlamini family, and also called on law enforcement authorities to do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to book.
MEC Simelane said: “An incident like this is spine-chilling. It is barbaric, cowardly and completely shocking. It’s a strong signal that something has gone horribly wrong in our society when innocent first responders, whose core responsibility is to save lives by helping those in emergency situations, get attacked and murdered like this. It is outrageous.”
“We’re told that Dlamini had a daughter, aged 21, who is at university, and two sons aged 19 and 12. She had a husband, and had worked for the Department for 10 years. What must her family do, now that her life has been snuffed out so suddenly, and so senselessly? We don’t even know whether her crewmate will survive this attack; or, if she does, how her life will be from now on. We can only wish her a full and speedy recovery, while our healthcare practitioners attend to her.
“But it’s not the first time that our paramedics are being attacked in this fashion. Incidents where paramedics get called out to emergency scenes, only to get robbed and stabbed, or subjected to various other forms of violence and hostility, have become commonplace. This really, really has to stop. We are calling on our communities to isolate and expose these heartless thugs. These criminals are in our communities. Someone, somewhere, knows something about what they have done.”
MEC Simelane-Zulu urged people to come forward with any information that might lead to their arrest, so that they can be brought to book.
“We really don’t want a situation where our paramedics refuse to work at night, because then people whose lives can be saved will start dying. So, it’s in the interest of all of us that justice is served, and that paramedics are protected at all times.”
No arrests have been made and Estcourt Police are investigating a case of murder and attempted murder.
