The Ngubeni family of the elderly woman seen physically fighting with her son, said they are extremely worried about her safety and well-being.
This is after one of them (known to The Star) recorded the video showing the elderly woman and her son fighting in the kitchen in their home in Emnambithi/Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal.
The man is seen carrying a big wooden-spoon. He slaps the woman, who is seen defending herself. She then falls down and the man continues unleashing slaps and fists on her. While all this is happening, the person recording is holding the camera steady, while another relative is also seen watching helplessly.
Speaking to Independent Media on Monday, one of the family members, who asked not to be named, said the alleged abuse has been happening for quite some time hence another family member also known to The Star decided to record, and share the disturbing video.
“The man seen fighting with the elderly woman is indeed her son, he is unemployed. The elderly woman has even lost weight because of the abuse,” said the family member.
The relative said most elders have passed on and they are not sure why the mother and her son fight.
She said one police officer phoned her about the incident but, she said, he has not returned to her.
“When I called one of the relatives asking if the son had been arrested, he told me he is relaxing in the house with his mother. I really do not know what to do because the victim has not opened a case and clearly we will not get any help until she does.
“This means the son is going to continue to beat her up. Looking at how the victim was retaliating when being beaten, it shows that she was defending herself and that this has been happening but now she is tired, hence fighting back. The victim is very reserved she does not talk a lot and and with that size of weight, she has lost so much weight,” she said.
The relative said the son is in his 40s, he does not work, he is a herdsman and he is illiterate too.
“I really don’t know what to say or react, if the people who are staying with her in the house do not act there is nothing I can do,” she said.
The Star on Monday also contacted the relative who captured the incident on her cellphone, she said she was unable to speak because she was at work.
According to unconfirmed information known to the SAPS is that the mother and the son might be mental patients. At the time of publication, no official comment was received from SAPS in KZN or nationally.
The Star