Siphelele Nketo
AFRO-POP and Afro-soul musician, Siyamthanda Diko, who goes by the stage name Cia Diko, was brutally stabbed while trying to protect his younger brother (18) from an attacker in the Thafeni area of Kokstad in KwaZulu-Natal.
Both Diko and his younger brother were approached by the suspect, known in the area, on Saturday, July 18, at around 6pm. They were on their way home from a local spaza shop.
The suspect allegedly pulled out a stick and hit Diko’s younger brother on the head. When Diko attempted to intervene and to protect his younger brother, he was stabbed and assaulted with a stick. He fell on the ground and was taken home, bleeding. According to reports, Diko and his younger brother were immediately rushed to the EG and Usher Memorial hospital to be treated for stab wounds and additional injuries.
After spending some hours in the hospital, they were released and reported to the police. Diko was born in the rural village of Mvalweni in EmaXesibeni (Mount Ayliff). When the incident happened, he was in Kokstad to prepare for his trip to Johannesburg, scheduled for Sunday. Apparently, his trip had to be cancelled due to the incident. His music breakthrough happened after he released three songs: Ngilinde, Qoma and Mthande. Police spokesperson Mosa Hlaki confirmed the arrest of a suspect (20) for attempted murder.
Diko mentioned the attack as the worst experience he could ever have imagined, saying that he had been hearing stories of crime in Kokstad not knowing that something like this would happen to him. He said the attack delayed his trip for an event in Johannesburg, and also left him with painful wounds on his right arm, head and stomach.
“The attack left me traumatised. I don’t know how I am going to survive this emotional trauma since my work requires interacting with people,” he said. The suspect is scheduled to appear in the Kokstad Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, July 28. He is in police custody.
