‘Drive, Mommy, drive’: Boy tells mom as they fend off hijackers

A Centurion woman and her son survived an attempted hijacking not far from her residence on Friday.

Kunjulwa Garrine, 43, was driving home in her Mercedes-Benz with her son, when she suspected she was being followed.

She told Rekord she had already called her 15-year-old son who was at home to open the gate for her to avoid waiting outside  at night.

She then drove past her house  and pulled over a few houses away to mislead the hijackers. However, they blocked her in with their vehicle.

“A man armed with a firearm got out of the passenger’s side and approached me. He pointed the weapon at me and indicated that I should get out. I heard my son say, ‘Mommy, we are being hijacked’,” she said.

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She said she had opened the door willing to give up her car when she realised her son was still in the car and had his safety belt on.

She quickly got back in her car and drove away, with the driver’s door still open. It struck one of the hijackers.

“By God’s grace we escaped. But my son looked through the back window of the car, yelling ‘drive, Mommy, drive, they’re coming’,” she told the publication.

She managed to drive to the Engen garage in Panorama Road, where she told one of the cashiers about the incident.

A case was opened at Wierdabrug police station.

According to Police Minister Bheki Cele, the country has seen an increase in car hijackings, with 4,513 cars stolen during the months of January, February and March this year. 

This is an increase of 4.9% compared to the same time period last year, which translates to 210 more incidents. 

The trend of carjackings continues to increase steadily, with no sign of slowing down. 

“Carjacking took place mostly in formal and non-formal residence in the country’s townships, followed by suburbs in urban areas,” Cele said.

Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde. Additional reporting Nica Richards