Pretoria - Fearing imminent execution, a Pretoria man addressed the robber who had just shot him in the head as “sir” and asked him if he had any children, the Pretoria High Court heard on Tuesday.
Restaurant owner Wouter Myburgh, who survived the gunshot during a robbery at his home in Amandasig, was testifying in the trial of six men accused of a series of violent house robberies north of Pretoria in May and June 2008.
Chicco Masemola, Socket Masemola, Thabo Diale, Lucas Mampane, Amos Matsimela and Aaron Mashiloane - all in their twenties and early thirties - pleaded not guilty to charges ranging from robbery with aggravating circumstances to attempted murder, rape and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
Chicco Masemola denied knowledge of the four robberies he was charged with. They include that of Myburgh and of a couple in Orchards, in which the woman was tied up and raped in front of her husband.
He and Mampane said they were already in police custody when the last of the robberies took place at a house in Orchards in June 2008.
Myburgh testified that he was woken by noises in May 2008. He then heard a loud bang that sounded like a shot.
“I didn't feel anything after hearing the bang, but when I turned around I saw a lot of blood on my pillow, felt blood running down my neck and realised I'd been shot,” he told the court.
“Within seconds the light was switched on... There was a person standing next to me with a firearm in his hand, two at the bottom of the bed and one on my other side.
“The guy next to me took a pillow, pushed it against the back of my head and pushed the firearm into the pillow. He asked where my gun and safe was.
“I told him I didn't have a gun... He asked me again for my gun, but I said I didn't have one. When I tried to say I had other valuables, he said: 'Shut up you motherf****r... You're going to die'.
“They continued to search and said they wanted money. The whole time the guy next to me kept the gun next to the pillow.
“I was concerned he was going to execute me and addressed him as sir. I asked him twice: 'Sir... Are you going to execute me?', but he told me to shut the f**k up,” he said.
Myburgh saw two of the men carrying his plasma television. The attackers also demanded his jewellery. He showed them his watches and told them about an expensive wedding ring he kept in his vehicle.
“They guy next to me said where's my wife and I said I was divorced. I asked him if he had kids, but he said: 'Shhh'.
“I was getting worried, because at that stage I was lying in a puddle of blood.
“I decided to try and expedite things and told them about other valuables. This seemed to calm them down and I could feel them tying my hands and feet.
“The man with the gun told me he had six children. I said: 'Sir, then you must be very blessed'... After that he said he'd decided not to kill me and I must stay quiet for 15 minutes after they'd left,” Myburgh testified.
After freeing himself, Myburgh ran to a neighbour's house for help. His neighbour wrapped towels around his head and took him to hospital.
Myburgh, who showed the court where the bullet had entered and exited the back of his head after apparently being deflected by his skull, said he spent four days in intensive care and battled to turn his head for a long time after the incident.
The trial continues. - Sapa