Durban: A KwaDukuza teenager is receiving counselling after she was blindfolded and beaten during a robbery at her home last Tuesday.
Her mother, who declined to be named, said her daughter, 16, was alone at home while she went to the shop in the KwaDukuza CBD.
"The gate to our drive-way was left open. We were unable to close the gate because the remote was not working. My daughter was sitting in the lounge eating when she noticed one of the robbers walk up the driveway.
“When she went outside to find out what he wanted, he had already walked to the back of our property. His accomplice, who then entered the property, confronted her. He said they wanted water. When she returned indoors, she saw the first robber in the home."
The mother, 41, said before her daughter could react, the second robber also entered the home.
"They grabbed her and blindfolded her. They wanted to know where her parents were and when we were returning home. My daughter told them that I was a few doors away at my relative's home and I would return soon."
She said the men removed the television from the lounge and from one of the bedrooms.
"My bedroom door was locked, so they took my daughter to the room to ask her why it was locked. She told them I always did that. They wanted the door to be opened and when she did not comply, they kicked and punched her. She fell but she managed to get up and get the key from another room and opened the door."
The mother said the suspects went through her belongings but they did not take much.
"They then locked my daughter in the bedroom. She had her phoned tucked in her gown and she called me to tell me what happened. I went into shock. She hung up on me."
She said her daughter told her that she began shouting for help.
"When the robbers heard her, they removed her from the bedroom and then fled."
She said her daughter sought help from their neighbours.
"I arrived home a few minutes later. She was in a lot of pain from the beating and was crying. My daughter was scared. She refused to stay in the home and she is living with relatives. She cannot sleep. She is not eating properly and she does not want to talk to anyone. My daughter has become a different person."
The mother said this was the second time her daughter was a victim of crime.
"About four months ago, she was held up by two men with slashers in the CBD. They threatened to stab her if she did not hand over her cellphone and money. She gave in to their demands and was not harmed. The recent ordeal, coupled with the trauma from the first robbery, is taking a toll on her. She is going for counselling."
She said crime was a problem in the area.
"I have been living in the area for two and a half years. I recently noticed a spike in crime. We need police intervention maybe patrols to keep the robbers away."
Captain Nqobile Gwala, a provincial police spokesperson, said a case of house robbery is being investigated by the KwaDukuza SAPS.
The Post