Durban - A joyous pre-wedding gathering at a Durban home turned into a nightmare for a young couple and their family when they were attacked by a gang of five armed robbers.
Just a day before their wedding, the terrified couple tried to save their lives by locking themselves in a bedroom as three gunmen barged into the Malvern home, while a fourth kept watch at the front of the house and a fifth at the back.
The thugs kicked the bedroom door open and rough-handled the family, making them lie on the floor as they made off with the bride’s imitation jewellery, several cellphones and cash.
The brazen morning house robbery shattered the notion that there’s safety in numbers and led to the bride’s father - who said he was sickened by crime - advising other families to hire armed security when hosting functions at their homes.
Despite their harrowing ordeal on Thursday, the couple tied the knot at a Christian ceremony the following day.
The bride, an attorney, and her husband have since moved to Johannesburg where she started a new job on Monday.
“The fear doesn’t leave you,” the 25-year-old woman, who requested anonymity, told POST yesterday (Tuesday).
She said she was now worried about her family’s safety as the robbers were not afraid to strike in broad daylight.
Her uncle, Lawrence Naidoo, said the robbery lasted about 15 minutes.
“I was offloading vegetables from my bakkie to cook for the meals, when my brother-in-law (the bride’s father) arrived and went inside,” he told POST.
“A few minutes later, a light gold 4x4 drove up and parked at the front entrance, blocking the driveway gate. Three men jumped out and each one wore a cap. The fourth person, the driver, remained inside.
“They casually walked on to the property. The first walked past me and went towards the front door, and without knocking or announcing who he was, went inside. I followed him, and his accomplices in turn followed me.”
He said one of the two men, who was behind him, caught him by his collar and repeatedly demanded, “Where’s the money? Where’s the safe?”
“That’s when I realised there was a problem.”
Naidoo said the first man had grabbed the shoulder of his sister (the bride’s mother) and demanded to know the same from her.
While both siblings were being held, their 85-year-old mother, who was sitting in the kitchen, watched the events unfold.
She started to scream out in fear, he said.
The family were then pushed into the kitchen and forced to lie on the floor.
“I just remember telling them to pray,” recalled Naidoo.
The third suspect walked into the passage looking for the homeowner.
Naidoo said his niece (the bride) and her fiance, who had seen the men enter the property, locked themselves in her bedroom and tried to call for help.
His niece’s screams had alerted her father, who used an alternative route and made his way to the kitchen, where he saw what was happening.
“They rough-handled him, pushed him and hit him with the gun on his face.”
The family’s cash and cellular phones were taken.
The homeowner was then dragged to his bedroom where he handed over cash.
When they were done, the robbers broke down his niece’s bedroom door, Naidoo said.
“Her fiance was trying to keep the door closed but they kicked it open. My niece ran to the toilet trying to call her brother to warn him to stay away. He was returning home but had not answered her call as he was around the corner,” Naidoo said.
He said his nephew arrived shortly afterwards and parked behind the 4x4, in which the fourth accomplice sat.
“The other three pulled him out of the bakkie, stole his money and drove off in his van, loaded with vegetables.”
Naidoo said his brother-in-law, who tried to check on his son, was prevented from doing so by the fifth robber, who had kept guard at the back of the house.
The bakkie, which had a tracking device, was recovered in KwaMashu later that day.
Naidoo said despite his niece being rattled, she tied the knot and the couple travelled to Johannesburg on Saturday to start their new lives.
Her father, who declined to be named, said families should hire armed security for functions.
“About two years ago, when my son got married at our former home in Stella Road, we hired eight armed security personnel,” he said. “Because this was going to be a small wedding, we did not employ security.”
Police spokeswoman Captain Nqobile Gwala said a case of house robbery was being investigated.
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