KZN EMS STAFF ROBBED AT GUNPOINT AND KIDNAPPED AT NKWALINI STORE

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ESHOWE - The Department of Health is outraged and deeply disturbed by the brazen attack on Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel at Nkwalini Store on the R34.

While responding to a call for help, a call made in the sacred name of saving lives,  staff were held at gunpoint, robbed of their personal belongings, and forced to drive to at least two taverns to purchase alcohol using their own bank cards. They were held captive for four hours before being released. Thankfully, they were not physically assaulted, but the psychological trauma inflicted is immeasurable.

"This incident is not an isolated aberration, it is becoming a troubling pattern in a province already stretched thin by the immense demand for EMS services. Our employees answer the call to assist those in dire need, yet they are increasingly being turned into targets of exploitation and criminality. This is unacceptable.

"We condemn this brutality in the strongest possible terms. It is a sad indictment on our society that we are the only communities who would call upon public help only to abuse and rob the very people deployed to save us. In any other situations including war, emergency workers are protected and revered so they can carry out their life-saving duties without fear or favour," the department said in a statement.

The matter has been reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for investigation.

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