Elderly Mbombela woman attacked

An elderly woman residing just outside Mbombela on the Uitkyk Road fell victim to a horrifying attack within the walls of her home on Monday evening, August 7.

Two assailants had left her battered and traumatised, seemingly for just a pair of cellphones.

Adele Kimble (75), who lives with her daughter Diann, recalled how she thought Diann had called her. “I came out of my room and got to the front door. One man grabbed me and held me down. Then another man came,” she said.

 

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The two of them shoved her face into the floor. She also sustained injuries to her hand and one of her bottom teeth was knocked out. “Everything happened so quickly, the next few moments of the attack were a blank.”

It took place at about 20:30, and is believed to have lasted for just over 10 minutes. Before the ordeal, Diann had taken the dogs out. She too was accosted by the men following the attack on her mother. She was completely unaware of what had transpired in their home.

“I heard something on the roof, and the next moment a man grabbed me and handed me to another. They held me down outside.” This seemed to have left a bruise on her cheek. Though she cannot recall much, she knows for a fact there were three suspects.

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They both told Lowvelder their cellphones were stolen, but that they were unsure if anything else was taken. Not much was said to the victims, except the suspects ordering Adele not to go outside.

The Kimbles’ neighbour, Marie Oosthuizen, had learnt of the attack when one of her employees on her smallholding saw a distressed Diann outside and reported it to her. She said Diann came to her property and told her what had happened. Oosthuizen sent out a distress call on the local WhatsApp security group at about 20:55.

ACS Spartan’s Theo Laas immediately dispatched a response vehicle to the scene, which arrived within minutes.
Laas, who had arrived shortly after, called former police officer Michael Horn, who heads K9 DTC Security and Training, to assist in tracking the suspects, but they were long gone.

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Laas said it appears they had entered the property by cutting the fence on the side, and that they had escaped the same way.

Meanwhile, a Nelspruit Police Station spokesperson, Constable Bongani Mokoena, has said that three suspects have been identified following the incident.

“The case has been cracked due to the swift operation and investigation carried out by the Nelspruit police. Due to the assistance of community members, the police have managed to identify the suspects.

“No arrests have been made yet. These suspects will soon be booked,” said Mokoena.

He said more information will be provided as soon as the the suspects have been arrested and convicted for their crime.

Adele said she had lived in her home for eight years and had recently sold the property. She and Diann are in the process of moving. Most of their belongings were all packed away into boxes when the men attacked.

“It has always been very quiet, and I have never been scared before.”

The rural safety unit of the Nelspruit Community Policing Forum (CPF) visited the victims on Tuesday morning, according to the forum’s John Meintjes, who also belongs to ACS Spartan.

He said the CPF will do regular check-ins with them, and will be looking at what steps they can take to better secure their property until they move at the end of the month.