Durban - An uMhlanga woman whose parents were being threatened by armed robbers, jumped from her first-floor bedroom window to get help.
Nozi Vikilahle, 31, on Sunday told how she telephoned the police during the invasion, but when they could not get on to the property and seemed to think all was in order, she gathered all her courage and leapt to the concrete below, badly hurting her feet.
The drama unfolded early on Friday when Vikilahle’s mother, Jabu, 60, was awoken by noises downstairs in the kitchen of the family’s Sunningdale home. Cutlery was being moved around.
It was just after 1am.
Her husband, Sithembile Vikilahle, 64, got up and they went to investigate.
Sithembile, a health department official in the Ilembe District Municipality, tip-toed towards the sound and shouted out, bluffing they had called the police.
“We could hear footsteps and the next thing two guys confronted us with knives. They asked for money and our safe. We are renovating so the majority of the items are in boxes,” he said.
During the ordeal, Jabu spoke loudly to alert her daughter, Nozi, 31, granddaughter, 7, and a care-giver in the other bedrooms.
“One robber put a knife to my neck and told me he will slit it if I don’t keep quiet. I put my cellphone under my armpit. He took R200 from my purse but was not satisfied,” Jabu said.
At one stage they threatened to rape her.
The robbers, who did not want to switch the lights on, had a difficult time moving around in the dark.
The father said they checked each of his suits, trying desperately to find his wallet.
“They were speaking in a mixture of isiZulu and English. I had no idea where my wallet was. They said, ‘Hey baba, we’re going to shoot you because you are bluffing us’,” he said.
“A third guy appeared and escorted me to open the door and the garage. They ransacked the car.
“They assembled items they were interested in taking near the door. They were contemplating which car to take,” he said.
The men, who had entered the house through a kitchen window, beat a hasty retreat when a police van arrived.
Jabu said she was looking for her daughter when a security guard informed her she was injured and would be taken to hospital.
“We didn’t know what happened to Nozi until later,” she said.
Balancing on crutches on Sunday, Nozi, who works as a crane operator in the port, said she was awoken by her father’s screams.
She sat in silence in her room listening to the voices.
“I called 10111. I could not remember any other numbers. I kept hearing the screams. Instinct kicked in. I had to get out of the room and get help.
“I climbed out the side window but then a guy came out of the house holding a gun and walked into the garage.
“I went back through the window. I stayed put until he went back into the house.
“I saw a police van arrive. Two police officers were trying to get on to the property. They thought nothing was happening,” she said.
Unaware the men had fled and thinking that her parents were being held hostage or being beaten, Nozi decided to get the police’s attention.
“I climbed on the ledge and realised it’s much higher than I thought. There was no grass to land on. It was now or never. If they come into the room I am going to be in trouble. I let go and jumped down. I ran to the gate to let the police in. The impact of the jump cracked both heels. I have to walk on my toes aided by crutches until it heals,” she said.
The robbers dropped a bag containing files and a computer tablet in the bushes. Behind the house is a ditch and the N2 freeway. Across from them is an embankment and a sugar cane field, where the men were last seen heading into.
Blue Security operations manager, Brian Jackson, said the gang robbed the family of flat screen televisions, a laptop, cellphones, jewellery and three sets of vehicle keys.
Police spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane, said a case of house robbery had been opened at Durban North police station. No arrests had been made.
Nozi was a victim of a hijacking recently, while Sithembile had been the victim of a robbery many years ago, while he was in school.
Both incidents still haunt them.
Nozi said two weeks ago, she dreamt of a robbery and had called home to check if her parents were okay.
The family expressed their gratitude to the police, Blue and Marshall security and the neighbourhood watch who came to their aid and provided trauma counselling.
Jabu and Sithembile Vikilahle flank their daughter, Nozi, who jumped from her first-floor bedroom window to alert the police during a home robbery.
Daily News