POLOKWANE – The Mabotja family lives in a house in Spoorweg Street in Ladanna, Polokwane and started off their Saturday with a family braai.
“We went to bed around 21:30. My wife woke me after she was awakened by the sound of breaking glass. I got out of bed to investigate the sound and found two men in the living room going through our property,” explained Simon Mabotja.
The intruders did not notice him and he went to his son’s room to fetch his pellet gun (air rifle) as a means to intimidate the intruders and get them to leave the house.
“With the rifle in hand I walked down the hallway shouting at the intruders that I was armed and that I will shoot if they do not leave the house. At first they threatened to kill us but I kept on answering that I would shoot them, hoping that they would notice the weapon I was carrying.”
After a few tense minutes, the intruders made their way back to the kitchen and out the window, through which they gained entry to the house, and ran off.
“I notified my neighbour, who is a member of the Community Policing Forum (CPF), and we went through the house to make sure the intruders were indeed gone and to determine if anything was stolen,” Mabotja said.
Upon investigating the house, they found two pangas in the kitchen which the intruders left behind in their haste to escape.
“It is unsettling to find these weapons. I believe these men might have been after more than a robbery, because who arms themselves with pangas for a house robbery? I am thankful that we were unharmed.”
Westenburg Police Spokesperson, Const Maphure Manamela, said she was not aware of a case of robbery being reported but she urged residents to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings. She urged residents to keep an eye out for people who act suspiciously and report such to the police and the CPF in the area.
“It is important that residents know under which police station’s jurisdiction they fall and that they know the number for said station by heart,” Manamela said.
She urged residents to keep their doors and gates locked and their windows closed to minimise the risk of criminals targeting them.
