Pensioner saved by heroic guardian angel
Gabriel Langa lived up to his angelic name when he went to the aid of a pensioner who was being held up at gunpoint.
ANNABELLE Margadant, a Durban pensioner, is lucky to be alive thanks to the timely appearance of a guardian angel who rushed to her aid while she was being held up at gunpoint.
Margadant was visiting friends on Friday night and had parked outside their home in ZK Matthews Road around 6.15pm. She had got out her Hyundai Atos and had pressed the gate buzzer to be let into the property.
“I was standing outside and noticed three men walking down the road towards me. They appeared to be walking casually along, but when they got to where I was standing, one of the men veered off towards me and the other two went around my car. The man said ‘give me your keys’ and stuck a gun in my belly as he reached for my keys,” she said.
Her screams of “No, no, no!” alerted her friend who was walking down to let her in and he also started screaming.
“I tried to squeeze my handbag, which had everything in it, through the bars of the gate, but the man grabbed the small chain on it. He twisted and broke the chain. I thought he’d broken my fingers as it was so painful. I had my back to the street, so didn’t see what was happening behind me,” she said.
Margadant’s guardian angel, Gabriel Langa, was driving by after work, with two of his colleagues in his bakkie, when he saw what was happening. Margadant said he’d told her later that he saw someone ‘like his mother’ being attacked and had to stop.
“I saw Granny [the name he has given Margadant] and knew something was wrong. The men were pulling at her bag and I had to stop to help. I didn’t realise the men had a gun, I thought they were just vagrants taking a chance at mugging her,” he said.
As Langa stopped, one of the men fired a shot at his vehicle.
“It was so scary, the men fired at Gabriel’s car and the bullet went straight through the window. I saw one of the men with him fall over and I thought he’d been hit! The men ran over to his bakkie and threw the passenger in the bakkie onto the pavement. He was lying on his stomach. I thought he was dead,” she said.
“The men jumped into my bakkie and threw my one friend out. The other was told to get out, and they drove off in my bakkie. We got a big fright, it was so unexpected,” he said.
Thankfully, the man was not hurt, but the hijackers made off with Margadant’s bag, car keys, and Langa’s vehicle, which was not insured. He was told that half an hour later the vehicle had been seen near the Pavilion on the N3.
Margadant said members of the Glenwood Community Watch arrived to help within two minutes of being alerted and also praised the quick and professional action of Umbilo Police, Sergeant Dickens and WO Kezan who arrived soon after. A police photographer also attended the scene to capture photographs of the bullet casing found at the scene.
Relieved and grateful for Gabriel’s heroic action, Margadant said she felt terrible that he had now lost his vehicle which he required to make a living. “Gabriel is a contractor and he has now lost his vehicle, which he needs to make a living. He and his friends could’ve also lost their lives trying to help me, I feel I need to do something for him,” she said.
She has committed to depositing R5000 into a special fundraising bank account to help Gabriel recoup his loss.
“I am hoping the community will rally to help by supporting this fund so that Gabriel can regain his life. I’m hoping our story of bravery amidst the horror of crime will touch the hearts of other people and encourage them to make a contribution no matter how big or small,” she said.
Anyone who would like to help can deposit funds into the following account:
Londiwe Ntshangase;
FNB West Street;
Cheque account; number:
62363844971; Ref: Ressano
