A mother and her three sons were tied up for five hours during a robbery in Cosmos Street in Mbombela on September 30.

The mother said she returned from a religious meeting with her children when they were confronted by three unknown males who waited inside her property.

“I parked the car in the garage while my two sons, who got out first, went to the house while I was helping the younger one. The suspects came out of nowhere and pointed guns at us, took the car keys and closed the garage door. I tried to scream but they threatened to shoot me if I did not keep quiet.”

“They tied me and my kids up and blindfolded us while searching for a tracker in the car. This took them almost five hours. When they eventually found it, they burnt it in front of me. They then ordered me to show them where the safe was and took me to my room. I thought they were going to rape me. I showed them the safe. They opened it and took all the money, amounting to R10 000, which I saved for the holidays,” she said.

She added that they did not suffer any abuse during the ordeal, but they are still traumatised, even abandoning their house as it holds bad memories.

“What angered me is that I pressed the panic button, but the security company came to check on us only after the men had left and some of the neighbours did notice something suspicious, but did not act. The tracking company did not detect that someone was fiddling with the car, or if they did, ignored it,” she lamented.

She said the suspects took the 10 laptops she uses for her support centre for kids with dyslexia, as well as seven cellphones, a PlayStation, a TV and other items, which they loaded in her car before fleeing.

“I am pleading with members of the public to assist me and the police to locate my car and laptops because they are my only source of income,” she begged.

The stolen vehicle is a white 2015 Toyota Fortuner 4WD with a raised body and two roof racks. It also sports a silver baby handprint sticker. The registration number is HLD 161 MP.

The police’s provincial spokesperson, Colonel Mdhluli, confirmed that Nelspruit police are investigating a case of house robbery and theft of a motor vehicle.

“No arrests have been made and the car has still not been recovered. Anyone with information may contact Detective Colonel Donald Mkhaliphi on 079 230 3126,” he said.