“Today you are going to die… I am going to make sure I kill you”.
For the past few days these words have been giving Jennifer Moodley, a single mother of three, nightmares.
Last Friday night, Moodley, 42, an accountant, her domestic worker Priscilla Ngcobo and two children, Riano, 9, and Reece, 19, were accosted by a group of four men who terrorised them for half an hour at gunpoint at their rented home in Lenham, Phoenix.
Moodley was punched in the face several times and her ear lobe was slit when one of the attackers tried to pull off her gold earring.
A traumatised Moodley said the ordeal began around 7pm.
“I was watching television and I saw a silver VW Polo come up my driveway. The gate was open because I was expecting my fiancé, Louie Chetty, who has the same car, and second son Dilan to come home. I opened the gate and stepped on to my veranda when this tall figure jumped in front of me.”
Moodley said the man pointed a gun at her head and shoved her back into the house.
“He was in the company of three other men. Two men stayed with me while two others ran upstairs to Riano and Reece’s bedroom. They grabbed (them) and made all three of them sit on the floor with their heads in between their legs. The men ransacked all the rooms,” she said.
“The man who was with me was extremely aggressive. He demanded a safe, jewellery and cash. When I told him I had no safe, he began punching me in the face repeatedly. When I tried to scream at him he pointed the gun to my head and said ‘Today you are going to die… I am going to make sure I kill you’.”
Concerned about her family’s safety, Moodley said all she could do was co-operate.
“I kept silent and calm. I tried my best not to scream or shout. I just closed my eyes and prayed. They opened a door and ransacked all the rooms. They fled with cellphones, a laptop, jewellery, a Sony PlayStation gaming console and R4 000 cash.”
When the men were done upstairs they brought her sons to the lounge and locked them in a room before fleeing.
“We waited a while before we opened the door and alerted neighbours to what had happened,” Moodley said.
“This incident has left us traumatised. My children are in shock and we are receiving counselling. I would advise residents not to make the same mistake as me. Always lock your gates because you never know who could be watching.”
The incident was reported to the Phoenix SAPS for investigation.