A trio of armed robbers cut halfway through a top South African triathlete’s leg after ambushing him while he was out training.
The thieves tried to cut off both of Mhlengi Gwala’s legs with a chainsaw after ripping him off his bicycle near Durban.
The 27-year-old was held down as the vicious gang fired up the chainsaw’s engine and cut half way through one leg then started on the other.
Luckily for Gwala, they suddenly stopped and fled into the night leaving him lying on the side of the road in a pool of blood.
Mhlengi Gwala has represented his country twice in international competitions and is tipped as a future star of the triathlon circuit
After the attackers vanished Gwala was able to crawl out of the bushes, where he had been dragged, and onto a main road where a security vehicle saw him.
The blood-soaked victim was helped into a truck and rushed to hospital where he is said to be ‘alive and talking’.
A close friend of the athlete who has represented his country twice in international competitions said he believed the chainsaw was too blunt to finish the job.
He was pulled from his bike during an early morning training ride in Durban near the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Dennis Jackson‚ director of the SA Elite Athlete Development programme – which Gwala is a part of – said the motive for the attack remained a mystery.
He said: ‘We have spoken with Mhlengi. He is in hospital‚ in the trauma unit of the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital‚ awaiting transfer to another hospital.
‘Our sports doctor has spoken to him. He is conscious. The circumstances seem really bizarre and I haven’t quite got to grips with exactly what happened.
‘It seems like they pulled him into a bush while he was on a training ride and they had a chainsaw and went for one of his legs. We don’t know yet how far they went in.
‘All we know is that Mhlengi is alive and he is talking and he is under medical care. Mhlengi doesn’t know why the attackers suddenly stopped and left.
‘What the damage is to his legs we don’t know yet,’ he said.
Fellow triathlete Henri Schoeman shared the shocking crime on his official Twitter account.
The athlete will now be forced to miss the South African National Triathlon Championships which are due to be held in two weeks time
He tweeted: ‘A friend of mine, cycling in the Durban area was robbed by three people this morning. Then they attempted to saw off both legs with a chainsaw.
‘Blade too blunt and only got half way through one and started on the other. Absolutely disgusting! How safe are we on SA roads?’
Gwala, who has been part of the South African national triathlon programme for four years, has represented his country twice and would now miss the South African Triathlon Championships in two weeks.
A South African Police Service spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwani said: ‘A case of attempted murder was opened at Umbilo police station on Wednesday.
‘The victim was approached by three suspects who dragged him into the bush and they tried to cut his legs and he was severely injured before going to hospital.’
According to his athletic sponsor Sue de la Porte, Gwala offered his attackers his cell phone and cash but they pinned him down anyway and tried to saw off his leg.
The lack of a robbery motive is seen by his friend as a deliberate attack to cripple him before the national championships in 10 days time at Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Gwala is a strong contender for the race which is a 40k cycle, 10k run and 1.7k swim.
Sandile Shange, Gwala’s training partner, said the only thing that saved him from becoming a double amputee was that the gang could not fire up the chainsaw and tried to cut through his legs manually.
‘They had cut through his flesh but could not cut through completely because they could not get the chainsaw through his bone,’ he said after visiting him in hospital.
Shange said his friend tried to give the attackers his valuables but they didn’t seem to be interested.
He added that Gwala needed five-hour surgery to have his leg saved.
‘They grabbed his bike and grabbed him. He asked what they wanted, but they did not immediately answer,’ he told News 24.
He said: ‘He just wanted it to stop. He handed over his iPhone and they looked at it and just threw it back at him. They even saw his watch and did not show interest.
‘When he told me, it was so scary. He said they grabbed him and took him to a nearby bush.
‘They were not speaking in Zulu. They were speaking something else. Mhlengi thinks they may have been Nigerian.’
Shange said the men then started cutting his leg.
He said: ‘The chainsaw was not sharp and they couldn’t get it started. So they manually started cutting. Two of them held him down while the other started on his leg.
‘They kept cutting until they got to the bone and they could not cut more. They wanted to start on the other leg but they were interrupted.’
Shange said a security guard interrupted the men, who fled.
He said: ‘He came down the hill with a flashlight and thereafter they ran away. The man then took him to the hospital. Who would do this?’
According to Shange, Gwala’s family had speculated ‘jealousy’ in the attack.
‘Why would these men not take anything? Why would they not speak? To us it is very strange. Mhlengi is a good man.’
Shange added that doctors indicated Gwala’s leg could still be saved.
He said: ‘This morning they felt the blood flow was still good and he could save the leg. They are saying that his recovery will take quite a while. He won’t be able to compete in his upcoming event.’
‘We just hope he will be fine. We will see after the surgery today.’
Police confirmed they were investigating a case of attempted murder.