A suffering Free State woman, now blind in one eye, pleads for justice after being reportedly forgotten by bus company Interstate Bus Liner following a fight in their buses.
Twenty-four-year-old Boitumelo Molatudi says she has not seen justice and not a cent in damages or reparations after a passenger on the bus had a fight with the bus driver while Molatudi was on board the bus.
Speaking about the incident, she says the passenger then threw a stone, shattering the bus window, with glass particles going into her eye and leaving her immediately blind in one eye.
Molatudi was taken to a public hospital and spent three days with no assistance or even an apology from Interstate.
She lives in a one-bedroom house with her aunt and her son, and struggles to see and work.
“My eyes become teary when it’s cold, and the one functional eye can’t see. At times, I am almost completely blind. I am really suffering,” Molatudi said.
“The house I live in is very small; we struggle to get even the basic necessities. I can’t create a better life for myself or my son because even the contractors deny me that I’d work because I’m blind in one eye. My one eye becomes too strained to work properly. I can’t fight Interstate because I don’t have power or money. Interstate is heartless, really headless.”
Molatudi further says although the accident happened on December 1, 2016, there has been no help.
“I cry every day because I can never have a normal life again. I can’t face the sun, so I can’t work on the farms. The other eye sees completeness when I face the sun. It gets better when I use the spectacles given to me by my neighbor. It is painful,” Molatudi said.
Although Interstate Bus Liner was not available for comment, the company’s social media platform says, “We pride ourselves on keeping our fleet and vehicles in mint and safe condition. Our fleet is supported by a team of qualified artisans and operated by a competent driver.”
This is a developing story.