I NEED A LEG
The fateful morning of November 2022 brought a lot of pain and frustration for 46-year-old Mmoloki Maretele of Mankgodi village.
His legs were severely burnt in a horrific incident that nearly claimed his life.
Narrating his ordeal to The Midweek Sun, Maretele said thieves broke into the house and attacked him while sleeping that early morning at 0300 hours.
At the time he was working as a builder and the day before the incident he had gone for a casual job and was paid for his services. He then went to at a local shebeen where he suspects the attackers might have spotted him with the money.
Maretele suspects that he was followed when going home from the shebeen later than night. What hurts him the most is that they poured a flammable chemical on him and took about P2000 from him.
During the incident, he felt a burning sensation and before he made sense of it, there was fire all over him on both legs. He tried to take off the jean that had caught fire, but failed.
His identity documents were burned to ashes, and he was admitted to Princess Marina Hospital where he ended up being amputated on the left leg.
His elder brother Tiroyamodimo Maretele said his brother’s situation hurts the family financially. He regrets that his younger brother was working as a builder and was able to sustain his life but now he cannot do anything for himself.
He added that Mmoloki needs an artificial leg to aid his independence.
“For now he is just like a child to me. We are doing everything for him. We cannot even visit other family members or friends since he needs our care daily.
“However, if he can be assisted at least with a prosthetic leg, he will able to go back to his normal life,” Tiroyamodimo said.