A Van Riebeeck Park couple is happy to be alive and grateful to all who helped them following a chilling armed robbery and brutal attack in front of their home.
Johan (58) and Noreen (59) Etsebeth were attacked and robbed of their valuables by two armed men in a blue VW Golf in the driveway of their Blouberg Crescent home on August 7.
The couple was on their way to Arwyp at 5.15am where Noreen goes for dialysis three times a week.
“That day it was no different. I had just gotten into the car outside the gate the Golf pulled up behind us and two men got out,” Johan said.
“Noreen saw them and managed to lock her door. I didn’t and when they came to my side, they opened the door and shouted I should get out and they would kill me.”
What followed was a horrible ordeal which the couple will never forget. Even though it lasted only a few minutes, to them it felt like hours.
The two men, one of them wearing a balaclava, beat Johan continuously with their guns on the head while he was still inside the car.
“They also tried to reach Noreen, who fought back and tried to defend herself,” Johan said.
The whole time Johan kept pleading with them to leave them alone as his wife had to go for her crucial treatment. He then tried to press the panic button on the car keys but one of the men grabbed it.
“I kept blowing the hooter to make noise and get some sort of attention,” Noreen said.
“Our tenant, who lives in the back room, heard the hooter but by the time he got outside they had already gone.” The two men made off with Noreen’s handbag, which had the house keys and her cell phone in it. They also stole a laptop, iPad, projector and bank cards.
As the men were leaving the scene, Noreen shouted: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus”, which, according to Johan, made one of then, the one who hadn’t covered his face, look almost scared.
“The one thing that struck me the most was how young the guy was. And he didn’t look like a criminal at all, he looked very neat and clean and descent, which was confusing because he doesn’t look like the type of gentlemen who would be associated with crime,” Johan recalled.
“Kobus Heymans from PHS Cops Security arrived soon afterwards and was just so helpful and supportive. He’s the one who called the paramedics who took us to Arwyp where Johan was treated. While we were away, he arranged for our locks and remote settings to be changed,” Noreen said.
“We’ve never had to experience anything like this and we are just so fortunate and grateful to have had all the support from PHS Cops, as well as family and friends.”
Heymans also arranged for the couple to receive trauma counselling.
The couple would like to warn other residents to be extra vigilant.
“After the incident, one of our neighbours told us that the exact same thing had happened to him two days earlier. This area we live in used to be such a safe environment but now you just never know what can happen to you, even with all the security measures in place.
“One tip I learned from this experience is, always keep your doors locked. Had my door been locked, it would have given me more time to try get away before the criminals opened my door,” expressed Johan.
The victims also expressed the importance of knowing your neighbours and the people who live in your community.
“As a community, knowing each other and having each other’ numbers is so important, especially for cases of emergency,” stressed Johan.
Even though the shock has started to settle in a little, the couple no longer feels 100 per cent safe. They have asked PHS Cops to watch over them when they leave the house in the morning for Noreen’s treatment.
Norkem Park SAPS spokesman, Capt Lesibana Molokomme, confirmed that a case of armed robbery had been opened at the station.
