A 59-year-old woman had a nightmare experience when two men allegedly broke into her house.

The woman who wished to stay anonymous in fear of her life said not even a security door could keep the two alleged robbers out.

They allegedly broke open the safety door with a crowbar to gain entry to the house in Die Heuwel  on September 9.

This happened in broad daylight at around 10:00.

The woman said she was still in her pyjamas as she was about to get ready to go to work.

“I heard a faint noise and stepped out of my room to go and have a look. I thought it was my husband who came back early. Instead, as I got out of my room, I walked into a strange man. In an instant, he was next to me.”

The woman saw the second man in her dining room.

“They started harassing me because of my short pyjamas and tried to push me back into my room onto my bed. I started fighting back and tried to get away from my bed.”

She remembered how they kept on saying ‘come here, come here’.

“Time stood still. I just begged them not to kill me. The one told me not to scream and keep quiet.”

She said she noticed one of the men had what looked like a gun he was hiding behind his back.

“A million things ran through my mind, but one thing stood out clearly, I thought I was going to die today. It was going to be my last day.”

In between the chaos, the woman started praying, and when she saw a gap, she ran outside screaming.

The men fled but took two cell phones with them.

She told WITBANK NEWS she is still traumatised and spoke to her pastor that had been very supportive, over the weekend.

She has the huge task ahead of her to go and do sim card swaps, change all the applications she used on her phones and get a new security door fitted.

Local police spokesperson Sergeant David Ratau said taking notice of small things during a house robbery or any other crime can help the police in their investigation.

“Do not look at the robbers directly, do so without being noticed. If you do recognise any of them, don’t make it known. Try to memorise any features and even their accent or dialect that may assist in identification and investigation,” Ratau said.

He said you must not put your life at risk but rather do as the robbers say.

He concluded that everyone is familiar with safety tips, but highlighted the following: “Ensure that doors and windows are properly equipped or fitted with burglar guard gates, or crossbars, and where possible use padlocks.”

Mr Frik van Wyk, a local resident is synonymous with fighting crime.

He said the Zello Application is a lifeline, and everyone living in eMalahleni should have it on their phones.

“Please use this crime channel initiated by the South African Community Crime Watch or phone me on 079 142 7834 if your life is in danger,” he said.

The first quarter’s crime statistics released by SAPS show that South Africa has experienced an increase in crime rates.

But there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel because the statistics also show that there has been a decrease of 5.7% in house robberies in the province.

From April to June last year, 353 cases were reported in the province, and in the same period this year, only 333 cases were reported.

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