A Knobkierie story that never was!
A story that could be read in one of two ways:
Way One:
Something truly bizarre reportedly happened in Mandela Bay Monday during a wage strike by municipal workers under the fold of the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu).
Apparently, according to municipal spokesman Kupido Baron Monday, a group of Samwu members involved in the wage strike forced their way into a municipal health centre in Walmer Township and forced patients to take knobkiries away with them on their way out of the centre.
Kupido's media statement at 16h16 Monday read: "They (striking municipal workers) forced patients to leave the facility with knobkiries."
It was not immediately clear why the striking workers would make such a demand, which for all intents and purposes - at least in the ordinary course of life here - has little if anything to do with their wage strike.
A knobkirie is a meter long wooden stick with a finely rounded smooth or curved tip used traditionally as a weapon by indigenous South Africa black tribes.
It could neither be established whether striking municipal workers brought the knobkiries with them for forcible supply to the patients or these traditional weapons were stocked by the health centre itself.
Did this really happen?!
Way Two
In all probability, it did not - at least not in the way it was reported. So, what could have possibly happened?
Striking municipal workers in Mandela Bay armed with knobkiries stormed a health centre in Walmer Townships and forced patients to vacate the facility.
Boring......! Of course, if only Kupido had said what he meant correctly the first time!</em>