Brave domestic worker defends herself against robber

The bravery of a 33-year old Pretoria east domestic worker saw her escape unharmed when a man, carrying a knife, tried to rob her in Groenkloof on Monday morning, Pretoria Rekord reports.

Mary Mureri of Thembisa, had just gotten off a taxi at the Fountains circle around 07:00 and was walking alone to work when she noticed a suspicious-looking man.

“He was on the other side of the road jogging towards the opposite direction, but he looked really odd for a jogger,” she said. “I was reluctant to cross the road because he was on the side that I usually walk on. I was nervous.”

Mureri kept an eye on the man who eventually crossed over to her side of the road. “I then crossed to the opposite side to avoid him. He was now jogging towards the same direction I was walking in but on the other side,” she said.

“My instinct told me to take out my pepper spray. I did it in preparation for the worst. I held tight to my handbag and kept looking to see how far he was.”

Before she knew it the man had crossed over to her side again and was pacing behind her.

“In a matter of seconds he was charging towards me trying to reach for my handbag, with a knife in one hand,” she said.

“I used the opportunity to use my pepper spray before he could even grab my bag.

“When the knife fell out of his hands and he reached for his eyes, I ran as fast as I could to the Groenkloof Nature Reserve’s gate.”

Here the 33-year-old found security guards to whom she gave a description of the would-be robber. The guards immediately notified reaction officer who then alerted the surrounding areas’ Axon reaction officers.

“A chase ensued and after an hour and a half, the suspect was apprehended by Axon on the corner of Nelson Mandela Drive and Pretorius Street in the water canal,” said Axon spokesperson Eric Verwy.

“The suspect was taken to the domestic in Groenkloof where he was positively identified.”

The 25-year-old man was arrested and taken to the Sunnyside police station. Mureri said she was left traumatised and it was difficult for her to get through the day.

“I was so scared and confused when I got to work. Now l am scared to use that road again,” she said.

“With women getting killed every day in our country, it’s scary now to move around alone.”

She said her employer later drove her to the Bosman taxi rank where she caught a taxi back home. Sunnyside police spokesperson Captain Daniel Mavimbela confirmed that a case of attempted robbery was being investigated.

The suspected robber appeared in the Pretoria magistrate’s court on Tuesday.