Durban - When robbers barged into the home of Reservoir Hills grandfather Danny Naicker, the 69-year-old instinctively fought back, all so that his wife and granddaughter would be safe.
Despite facing thugs with guns, he managed to whack the weapons out of their hands before he was attacked with a steel pipe and crowbar.
In the end, despite being injured, his brave actions forced the robbers to flee, empty-handed.
Speaking about the Thursday-morning ordeal, the retired businessman said his wife Rita was outside with their gardener cleaning their yard while his six-year-old granddaughter, Kimaya, was in the lounge watching television.
“The pedestrian gate was left open and so was the gate to the house because of the cleaning. Four men in a white VW Polo jumped out of the car and entered the yard via the pedestrian gate. One suspect threw my wife to the ground, placed his foot on her chest and held a gun to her head. She started screaming and he told her he would shoot her.”
Naicker said he was ironing clothes in another bedroom when he heard his
wife’s screams.
“I looked out the window and I saw the men.
“As I walked to the lounge our gardener ran past me out the kitchen door.
“Our house has three
storeys; we live on the third floor and the bottom two
have tenants.
“The gardener jumped from our kitchen balcony to get to the back of the house to alert the tenants.”
He said his tenant, Sharon Iyapian, who lives on the second floor, jumped from her window to call their neighbours for help.
Iyapian said when she heard the gardener scream she knew something had to be done.
“I didn't go through my door because I didn't want the men to see me. I jumped from my window and ran to the neighbour for help.
“We contacted a security company and police.”
In the meantime, Naicker went to the lounge to check
on Kimaya.
“I saw three men armed with guns, a steel pipe and a crowbar standing in the middle of the lounge and Kimaya was sitting on our couch terrified.”
Naicker said he tackled the men with the guns first and managed to hit the weapons out of their hands.
“They then came at me with a steel pipe and crowbar. I was hit over the head and on my body and I passed out.”
The robber holding Rita hostage then ran to his
accomplices and told them they needed to leave.
Rita said the men opened their driveway gate and the white VW Polo came into their yard. They got in and sped off.
“I rushed into the lounge and saw my husband on the floor; Kimaya was leaning over him in tears.
“A local security company came to our aid and
my husband was taken to
hospital.”
She described her husband as their hero.
“If it was not for his bravery, God only knows what would have happened to us. These criminals are ruthless.”
Naicker said he believed Shri Sathaya Sai Baba had given him the strength to protect his family.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said a case of house robbery was being investigated and no arrests had been made.