MALVERN residents, who were the latest victims of the criminals roaming Pinetown’s streets, shared their harrowing ordeal they experienced after a visit to the Pinetown Home Affairs.
The shaken and frustrated resident, Helena Everett told the Highway Mail she and her husband (69) were married in May this year, and with that came the name change and the need for all of her documents to be updated accordingly.
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“Obtaining my new identity document (ID) and other documents were of extreme urgency as my bank also put my main salary account on Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) hold when I requested a name change, based on the certificate issued by the marriage officer.
“My passport is also expiring and, as I have a daughter in Ireland, a son in the UK and another daughter leaving for the UK in the next month, I cannot afford to not have my passport up to date, should there be an emergency with any of them,” she said.
She made her way to the Pinetown office to run the gauntlet. Here, she would apply for her marriage certificate and the other relevant documents. The newlyweds said they were informed that the queues at the local office subside at noon.
They parked at a complex adjacent to Pinetown Home Affairs.
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“We joined the queues and were given a number,” she said. The couple said they entered the building one-and-a-half hours later.
“Inside, there is utter confusion. We were given the run around and no one gives you a complete answer. We end up in a queue that leads to one woman processing everyone’s biometrics,” she said.
What’s was more frustrating for the couple was the system that kept going offline.
After the long process, they walked out of the Pinetown Home Affairs just after 18:00, and made their way to their vehicle.
“There was not another soul in sight en route to the car. As my husband closed my door, I looked up and saw four men approaching up on the verge from the taxi rank side. They were looking straight ahead as if to give the impression of disinterest and walking very fast. My hair stood on end because I know that look from being in a home invasion before.
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“I shouted to my husband ‘get in the car, there is a gang approaching.”
Recalling the incident, she said she vaguely remembered screaming ‘no!’ as that familiar terror filled her gut.
“My husband makes it to the door and is halfway in when, suddenly, there are three men in his doorway, grappling and struggling with him to get his phone, which is peaking out of his pocket,” said the woman.
In the meantime, another man ripped her door open, fell across her lap and grabbed her phone from her hand.
“They took our phones and fled. We were totally shaken and we still had to go over the robot at Glenugie Road and Anderson Road, which are notoriously ‘smash and grab’ zones at 18:10 at night.
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“This experience has left us both traumatised and exhausted. I believe that we are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. When is this going to end? Pinetown has become a field for criminals and it seems like the police are not taking it seriously.”
She noted that there were no policemen in sight. “They hung around the vendors for a short while and then disappeared, despite the announcement of extended hours at home affairs,” said the concerned resident.
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