Durban - Two weeks ago, Roy Sewburan lost his mother. This week, he almost lost his life.
On Monday night, Sewburan, 61, a resident of Hillgrove in Newlands West, drove to Parlock to drop off documents pertaining to the natural death of his mother. While there, he was attacked by armed men.
“I don’t recall how many men came at me. All I remember was that they wanted the car and any valuables I had on me. I told them I had no cash, neither did I have a cellphone. I was pushed to the ground and kicked repeatedly.”
Sewburan suffered bruising to his back and his hands.
He said while he was on the ground, the suspects jumped into his vehicle and another vehicle they had arrived in and sped off.
“It all happened so fast. I think I blanked out and froze. You don’t expect these things to happen to you and when it does, you never know how to react.
“I recently lost my mum and I’m still trying to deal with her passing. For this to happen now is almost too much for me to bear.”
He said at some point he became aware that he was surrounded by people who had come to assist.
One of those was Gayathree Harrichand, the woman he visited to drop off the documents.
“I did not open the front gate. He passed the documents over the gate and we chatted for a bit,” said Harrichand.
“He was about to leave when I saw a man walk towards Roy and point a firearm at him. He wanted the car keys. I shouted for help and the man then pointed the gun at me.”
She ran inside to raise the alarm.
“The hijacker pushed Roy to the ground and kicked him because he didn’t hand over the keys. At one point I thought he was going to shoot Roy.”
She said Sewburan handed the keys to the hijacker who drove off in the Ford Figo.
“My husband, a neighbour and a couple who were passing by in a bakkie stopped to help.”
Harrichand said they took Sewburan into her home and contacted his family.
“He was shaken and traumatised.”
She said she had not seen a second hijacker.
Prem Balram, of Reaction Unit South Africa, said the suspects fled to Inanda in the vehicle.
“We followed the signal of the tracking device with Tracker and the Inanda SAPS. We began honing in on the signal,” said Balram.
He said the suspects sped off when they noticed a Tracker vehicle approaching them.
“They lost control of the hijacked vehicle, ran over six children who were standing on the side of the road and plummeted down a steep embankment.
“The Ford Figo landed on its side and was wedged between two houses. The suspects managed to get out of the vehicle and fled the scene on foot.”
One of the six children later died of her injuries.
Okuhle Shonga, 12, was standing at the side of the road with her siblings, Owami, 12, Lwandle, 8, and Lwazi, 6 as well as two friends. They were returning home after fetching Lwazi, who lived with a relative nearby.
Their aunt, Ntombenhle Shonga, said the accident happened a few metres away from their home.
“I was with my elder sister, nephew and grandmother when we suddenly heard a loud bang followed by a few screams. My nephew and I rushed outside to see what had happened. Our eyes were not ready for what we saw.”
She said the children were lying on the ground and were badly injured.
“The lower part of Okuhle’s body and her jaw were dislocated. She was covered in blood.”
Shonga said they called the ambulance but because of Okuhle’s condition, a local pastor drove them to the nearest clinic.
“I had to be brave and pick her up,” said Senzo Mthembu, Shonga’s nephew.
The child was taken to Newtown A Clinic, while paramedics took the others to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital. Shonga said Okuhle died a few hours later.
“After her mother passed away last year, I took her in as my own. We had a close bond and she respected me as her own mother. She was a bubbly personality and I will miss her.”
Okuhle’s uncle, Sihle Mthiyane, said: “She was a good child with a beautiful smile. She articulated herself well and had big dreams. It saddens and angers me that such a young life was taken away.”
Lwandle was discharged on Tuesday, while Owami remained in hospital.
Lwazi was transferred to Addington Hospital due to the severity of his head injuries.
The children’s two friends were discharged from hospital.
Gladys Thobela, the owner of one of the houses the car was lodged between, said she had just taken a bath and was startled by a loud crash.
“It sounded like it was coming from the roof and I got such a fright. I was scared for my life. I went outside and was met by a young boy’s body covered with blood. On the other side of the house, I saw two young men who came out of the car and ran away.”
Sewburan became emotional when he heard the hijackers had killed and injured young children.
“These are innocent children who did not deserve this. It’s really heart-breaking and the saddest part is the suspects are getting away with these crimes.”
This was the second time he has been hijacked: “More than a year ago, I was hijacked while working in town. The suspects took the work vehicle and hit me with the butt of the gun on my head. This incident brought back all those traumatic memories.”
Captain Nqobile Gwala, a provincial police spokesperson, said a case of culpable homicide as well as reckless and negligent driving was being investigated.
According to the recently released crime statistics, there were 18162 carjackings nationally from April 2019 to March 2020.
In KwaZulu-Natal there were 3 041 cases or just over 8 incidents a day.
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