Hijack victim dumped at KwaDabeka cemetery
One alleged hijacker was shot dead and the two others were arrested and will appear again in court on Monday, 14 May.
A KWADABEKA mom is lucky to be alive after she was suddenly woken up from a nap with bricks on her legs and a car inside her bedroom, following a shoot-out between police and three alleged hijackers on Friday, 4 May.
The 49-year-old mom, who usually wakes up at the crack of dawn to make vetkoek to sell at a nearby school, told the Highway Mail that she was taking her afternoon nap when the incident happened.
Hlengiwe Radebe said she was woken by the screaming of her son. “I was so out of it, I did not even hear the car crashing into my wall. I still cannot believe that I made it out alive. Those bricks could have ended up on my head. ”
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She said she heard the sound of an aeroplane but did not think it was nearby her house.
“I woke up a bit earlier to use the loo and when I came back to my bedroom I changed my sleeping position and I put pillows and a blanket on top of my legs as it was getting cold.
“The next thing I knew my son was screaming. Neighbours started gathering and there were sirens all over. I was taken to the clinic and given an injection and painkillers. I was discharged that afternoon as they said I had no fractures,” she said.
Radebe’s worry now is that she will have a hard time continuing her job as normal as her leg is still very sore.
“On the weekend, I did not feel the pain, I think it might have been the injection, but now it’s even hard to get out of bed. I can walk but I am using a walking stick to help me balance.
“I just want this nightmare to be over. My bedroom still has bricks all over and I cannot even clean it as we were told that it is a crime scene. I do not even know how I am going to get the money to fix the wall,” she said.
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Pinetown Cluster communications officer, Capt. Bongumusa Manqele, said the police were responding to a hijacking incident which took place at Henwood Road in Pinetown.
“The man who was hijacked was waiting to pick up someone as he has a lift club. He was approached by three men who forced their way into his car and drove around with him. The men took his bank card, demanded his pin number and withdrew at least R2 000 at an ATM in Clermont,” said Manqele.
“Then the men dumped him at the KwaDabeka Cemetery.
He said the victim managed to find the main road and called for help.
“The police were alerted, the car was spotted and the chase began. The suspects started shooting at the police and the officers retaliated, one suspect, the driver, was shot dead and the two others were arrested.
“During the chase, the suspect hit another vehicle which crashed into Radebe’s home,” said Manqele.
The two appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 7 May and were remanded in custody.
They will appear again next week on Monday, 14 May.
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