If you do not know someone well enough, do not let them onto your property. This is the stern warning from a senior citizen who was recently overpowered and robbed at her house in Secunda.

The woman (76) and her ailing 78-year-old husband are grateful to still be alive after this traumatic encounter on February 20.

They want to remain anonymous out of fear for their safety, but the woman wants to warn residents to be vigilant and not let anyone into their homes. She worked from home at the time to earn an extra income, while also keeping an eye on her husband, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease.

She recalled the events of the day of the robbery.

“My husband, who uses a walker, and I went outside to walk in the garden to get some exercise when a white car drove very slowly past our house and then reversed,” said the woman.

A well-dressed woman got out of the car and greeted her: “Hello granny, how are you doing? I nearly drove past your house because I have not been here in a long time. I was in Cape Town, training to become a nurse.”

The elderly woman thought the stranger looked familiar and opened the gate because the woman insisted on greeting her husband.

“I had many clients and there were always people coming and going at my house. She hugged me and my husband and was very friendly,” explained the pensioner.

Under the ruse of being a client, the stranger then asked if her pregnant sister, who was waiting in the car, could rest under the lapa because it was hot.

“I told her I don’t really have time to visit because I still had a lot of work to do, but she said her sister just wanted to sit there for a little while. Then a man got out of the car, also well dressed. He too entered our yard to greet us and shake my husband’s hand.”

“I then realised the sister was no longer sitting under the lapa. I went into the house and found the two women inside my bedroom. When I asked what they were doing in my house, they wanted to know how many bedrooms there were and complimented me on having such a beautiful home.”

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The elderly woman said her house was not for sale and asked the two to leave.

“Then the man came down the hallway. I was worried about my husband being left alone outside as he struggles to walk.”

Suddenly, one of the women pushed the elderly woman into a bedroom and demanded the rings on her fingers.

“She tried to take off my rings, but they were too tight. The woman fetched liquid soap from the bathroom, smeared it on my hands and forced the rings off.”

The man, who by then had moved into the main bedroom, opened the door to the closet where the safe is kept.

“He demanded the code for the safe, but I went blank and could not remember it. He threatened to kill us if I didn’t give him the code. I prayed softly and then remembered the code and opened the safe. They stole all the jewellery inside, as well as my husband’s pistol.”

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At that moment, the victim’s husband also came down the hallway and bumped into the criminal with his walker.

“I signalled to my husband not to do it and the man just looked at him. He then ordered us into the spare bedroom and locked us inside.”

The couple waited for a while until everything was quiet. The woman called out for water, but there was no answer.

“When I heard nothing, I hoped the robbers had left. I took a chair and broke the window.”

She sought help from a neighbour, who called the couple’s children because the robbers had also stolen the pensioners’ phones.

“The response of the security companies and the police was fast, and I just want to thank everyone who helped us fix the window and get everything back to normal again.”

The locks on the entire house, gate and garage had to be replaced because the trio had also taken all the keys. Police are in possession of CCTV footage in which the faces of the three criminals are clearly visible.