The ridiculous and heartbreaking incident experienced by cyclist Nicholas Dlamini received serious attention from his colleagues. The athlete under the Dimension Data team had to undergo a broken arm surgery (28/12) in Cape Town, South Africa, after getting into a fight with the guards of South Africa’s Table Mountain National Park three days ago.
As reported yesterday, the incident began when Dlamini and her cyclist colleague, Donovan Le Cok, crossed the national park guard gate to conduct a training. There was a miscommunication between the two sides because the guards asked for proof of Dlamini’s entry or ticket. They forced both of them to stop and make Dlamini fall.
In a video recording seen four officers involved in an argument and tried to secure Dlamini. In that incident, harsh treatment was received by Dlamini. The body and face of the 24-year-old racer were forcefully affixed to the car body of the officer. His hands were cut like a criminal. For this action, his left arm was broken.
To ease Dlamini’s burden, British racers are raising funds for medical expenses and legal affairs that Dlamini will undergo. Track master champion Ryan Visser started the fundraising. The funds collected will also be allocated for the 24-year racer recovery fee. However, until yesterday the amount of funds collected was unknown.
Visser met with Dlamini while taking part in the 2015 Cape Rouleur event. Both of them also went down on the Tour of Good Hope in 2017. “He is the most friendly person I have ever met. He deserves the success he has so far, ” explained Visser as quoted by Cycling Weekly.
In 2018, Dlamini was ranked first in the mountain classification on Tour Down Under and Tour of Britain with Dimension Data. Visser revealed, the cost of treatment in South Africa is quite a lot. “For that, we will do anything to help him,” he said.
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The Dimension Data team that will transform into NTT Pro Cycling in 2020 World Tour will ensure the operation of the drivers. ’’ He is currently undergoing medical treatment. Next, we will provide updates about him, ” wrote the official statement of the NTT Pro Cycling team.
The Table Mountain National Park insisted that the handling of the Dlamini and Donovan Le Cok cases was in accordance with procedures. ’’ After undergoing an investigation, we found that the cyclist could not show a valid entry ticket or activity permit. The situation changed and resulted in his injury during treatment, ” said the spokesman for the officer.
Meanwhile, empathy was also shown by the governments of South Africa and the Western Cape. Western Cape Premier (Governor) Alan Winde asks SANParks (South African National Parks) to immediately conduct a thorough reinvestigation.
“There must be a consequence of the arbitrariness of SANParks officers in this situation,” explained Winde as quoted by Cycling News.
As a first step, SANParks has disabled the five rangers involved in the incident. In addition, they appointed an independent investigator to handle the case.
