Dawie Roodt’s daughter speaks of panga attack
Dawie Roodt's daughter Danielle said her father was heroic as he risked his life for his family.
The daughter of economist Dawie Roodt has spoken about her anguish when armed robbers terrorised her family in their Pretoria home on Thursday night.
Danielle Roodt (24) said on Friday she had no doubt that her father saved their lives.
Roodt suffered serious arm and head injuries when he got into a fight with one of the intruders armed with a panga.
Speaking to Rekord on Friday, Danielle said she arrived home at 19:45 and was confronted by a man standing by her car door in the garage.
“They asked where my father was and if anyone else was home. They took me inside and got me, my dad, step-mom and my sisters in the foyer where they tied us up, gagged us and blindfolded us,” she said.
She said the men were armed with a revolver, a panga and a hunting knife.
Due to Eskom’s scheduled load shedding, the power went out during the ordeal.
“They became nervous. They demanded cash and my dad told them it’s in his car which was in the garage outside. As one of the robbers tried to open the garage, my dad managed to free himself and tackled the guy,” she said.
She said a struggle ensued between Roodt and the robber when her father was stabbed.
Danielle said the man fled after Roodt yelled for help.
“The other guys in the house took some items before they also fled. We managed to get loose and ran to the window to look for my dad. He lost quite a lot of blood and I rushed him to the hospital,” she said.
She said the robbers took off with cellphones, iPads, laptops, external hard drives and some clothing.
Roodt was stabbed in the arm and head. He underwent an operation at the Pretoria East hospital on Thursday night and was out of danger.
His secretary, Erika Botha said on Friday afternoon that Roodt was doing fine but was drowsy from the medication.
“He lost a lot of blood but he is very talkative. There will be more operations to repair damages to the muscle but at the moment he is doing okay. He is still in the ICU,” she told Rekord.
She said the family was doing well despite the shock and trauma they experienced.
“I am very shocked at this country of ours. This should not have happened. We don’t feel safe anywhere, not even in our own homes.”
Botha said police were investigating how the robbers accessed the estate.
She did not want to disclose the estate’s name for security purposes.
Provincial police spokesperson Lt-Col Katlego Mogale said the matter was being investigated.
Listen to sound clip of Danielle Roodt after the attack.
Also read:
Dawie Roodt was protecting daughter
Dawie Roodt attacked and wounded in house robbery
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