Simelane: Deadly Estcourt medic ambush a 'barbaric, cowardly act'
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane says the killing of a paramedic is a barbaric and cowardly act.
In the early hours of Monday morning, Phumzile Dlamini, a 40-year-old mother of three and EMS paramedic, was shot and killed while attending a shooting in Mabhanoyini, Estcourt.
Her colleague was shot in the stomach and is in critical condition.
It is understood that paramedics had already picked up a patient who suffered a fractured leg when they made a detour to the home of a man who was shot.
While securing the injured man into the ambulance, shots were fired.
Simelane says by putting healthcare workers' lives in danger, communities they serve are also compromised.
"If we continue to act like this, it means our health workers and those that are assisting us with ambulances are no longer going to be able to visit us or pick up patients from our homes because now they will be afraid and they will be scared that whenever they come to our households, they are going to be attacked.
"We are saying this because we have noted that in the previous month in other communities, some have been robbed of their belongings while others were robbed of their vehicles that they are utilising."
No arrests have been made.
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