Cape Town - A family George are struggling to come to terms with the “new version” of their daughter, who uses a wheelchair after surviving a brutal attack.
Sivenathi Toto, 23, was attacked by a man allegedly after her boyfriend had quarrelled with him. He allegedly beat and dragged her before dumping her unconscious body behind a petrol station.
Toto, who had a bright future ahead, is now in the care of her mother after she survived the attack late last year. The attack left her mute and unable to perform her day-to-day routines.
According to Sivenathi’s father, Simo Toto, the family are broken and traumatised after the attack. Sivenathi’s mother, Nosiviwe, had to stop working and start caring for her now disabled daughter.
“Things at home are pretty bad. My daughter has gone back to being a baby and that saddens us as her family.
“My wife had to stop working because our daughter needs constant attention. She can’t speak or do anything on her own anymore.
“My family are broken, so much so that Sive’s sister, my younger daughter, has decided to move out of our home to stay with relatives because she can’t stand seeing her older sister like this,” Toto said.
Before the incident, Sivenathi worked at her father’s construction company as a secretary. She also had a business as a hairdresser. As a then independent young woman, her family enjoyed seeing her doing everything for herself and her family.
“Sive, as our older daughter, used to help around the house,” Toto said.
Sivenathi’s case is under investigation and the suspect is expected to appear in George Magistrate’s Court on August 7.
siviwe.melapi@inl.co.za