MNGANDUZWENI – Residents are worried about the recent spate of house burglaries in the village. On Saturday night alone, six families reported that their homes had been broken into and burgled.
Ms Petunia Nonyane said she went to bed around 22:00 and when she and her family woke up on Sunday morning, a window had been smashed.
“I found our clothes scattered all over and the house looked as if it had been ransacked. I think they were looking for money and when they couldn’t find any, they went for our food in the kitchen. They also took our phones,” she said.
Nonyane added that the perpetrators used muti to make them fall into a deep sleep so that they didn’t hear anything. She said she was grateful that her husband, who works far away from home, was also at home that particular night.
“If he had not been there, I would have been raped. These people can do anything when they are high on nyaope,” she added.
Another resident, Mr Timothy Nyathi said money, food and other valuable items were taken from his house on the same night. “We are a poor community and it is very sad when the little we have is taken from us in this manner.”
The residents said they hadn’t reported the incidents because they knew the police would do nothing. “These things have been happening for years in this community and the perpetrators are from the very same neighbourhood. We have told the police who the suspects might be, but nothing is done as we have no evidence,” another one added.