IT was round two of a nightmare the Scholtz family thought they would never have to relive – 67-year-old John Scholtz and his 22-year-old daughter Jadene were held at gunpoint, tied up and traumatised all over again when their Doble Road home was invaded on April 15. 

Also read: Violent home invasion: Bluff family tied up, home ransacked

This harrowing ordeal marked the second time in 18 months that the family’s home was invaded and they were stripped of nearly everything they own. Unlike the prior incident, this invasion took place in broad daylight. 

Traumatised again

Jadene’s voice, even now, carried a slight tremor as she recounted how a normal afternoon turned into a nightmare which she thought she had gotten over. 

“I was sitting on my bed by the entrance of our home playing games on my phone, when something told me to look up. There was a man standing right there with a gun asking for my phone,” said Jadene.

The robber quickly took her phone, then pulled her toward the living room couch. Jadene cried out for her father, who was in the bathroom at the time. The moment John walked into the lounge, his own phone was taken, and he too was pushed onto the couch. 

According to John, the four robbers were in uniforms which resembled eThekwini Municipal workers and they were synchronised in their work. The robbers took out clothes from the cupboard and tied up Jadene and her father. 

“They tied my hands and my legs. One arm was so tight I told them they were hurting me, but they did not care. They pushed me on the floor and turned me onto my stomach and threw a sheet over me. I started panicking under the sheet, I was hyperventilating. I kept trying to lift myself just to get air. They kept saying, ‘don’t move, don’t look’, but I was just trying to breathe,” said Jadene. 

Even amid her fearfulness, she maintained some awareness of her surroundings. She peeped through, caught glimpses of the sheet lifting, and saw them load their car. 

Also read: Twice the trauma: Scholtz family home invaded again

For John, the ordeal proved no less brutal.

“One of them shoved me into a chair and put a gun to my head. He kept asking, ‘Where are the guns?’ I told him I don’t have any. I’m a pensioner and I have nothing,” said John. His appeals were met with more physical pushes to the shoulder. “They kept hitting me and I already have an injured shoulder and now it’s worse.”

Threatened his daughter’s life

As he lay restrained, the men tore his shorts to get his wallet, taking his ID card, bank cards and the R5 800 in cash that he had to pay the repair guy for urgent vehicle repairs. 

“They pointed the gun at my Jadene under the sheet and demanded for my PIN. What could I do but gave it to them. They drained most of the money they could,” said John. 

Impact of the loss 

The attackers searched the house and found a safe. “My mother is 92 years old. All her jewellery was in there, things my father bought for her over a lifetime. My wedding ring which I have had for 31 years gone,” John explained. “They took everything.”

Perhaps the most impactful loss for John, however, was his laptop.

“My son passed away 10 years ago. Every photo I had of him was on that laptop,” he said with tears in his eyes. “Now I have nothing to remember him by.”

The robbers, it became clear, were not content with just the obvious valuables. They emptied the home of food, clothing, shoes, bedding and all basic necessities. “They took everything. Even the coffee. We did not even have money to buy bread after they left,” said John.

Also read: Family in hospital after brazen home invasion

No work, no living 

Beyond the material losses, the incident disrupted the family’s ability to earn a living. John’s work relies entirely on online access, while Jadene conducts her teaching sessions via her phone.

“That’s my only work. I cannot teach. If I lose this job, I am finished,” said Jadene.

Adding to the strain is the responsibility of caring for John’s elderly mother, who resides at an old age home and remains dependent on him for her essential needs.

That first attack had necessitated the family’s relocation from a four-bedroom house to their current, smaller residence, a move intended to alleviate financial strain following their initial loss. Now, they are left to contemplate how they might begin again.

Supporting the family 

The family has issued an appeal to the community for assistance, requesting food, basic supplies, a second-hand laptop, or any usable cellphone so they are able to start doing their work again. 

If you are able to donate, contact Santana Scholtz on 060 387 9860 or John Scholtz at 073 801 3589.

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