A woman was robbed by two knife-wielding thugs at Amanzimtoti Bird Sanctuary on Monday afternoon, 23 May.
The woman, who did not wished to be named, said she often goes to the park to destress and photograph birds. “I always sit on the same bench. It is so peaceful there,” she said.
On Monday she followed her usual routine and turned right after entering the park and walked over the bridge to sit on the bench.
“The holes in the prefab fencing surrounding the park made me feel unsafe, but I saw a security guard so I thought it must be safe. At about 1pm I saw two men who walked past me. One asked me for a lighter. When I told him I don’t have one, they stopped on the bridge and the other asked how they get out the park. After I told him, they spoke among themselves and then suddenly started walking at pace towards me. One took out a knife and held it to my chest. He told me to keep quiet and they won’t hurt me, they only wanted my money.
The other went behind me, took off my backpack and started looking through it. He took about R120 from my purse and they asked me for my phone, but I told them it was in my car.”
The men threatened to kill her if she didn’t produce the phone. The thug searching her backpack found the hidden compartment containing her phone, a brand-new Samsung S6, and the pair disappeared through a hole in the fence and onto Moss Kolnick.
Badly traumatised and shaking from her ordeal, the woman ran out the park and got someone to phone the CCPO and police.
“In a matter of minutes, ET Rapid Response, the CCPO, Blue Security and the police were there,” said the woman, who was full of praise for the responding police and response officers. She drove around with them to search for the thieves, but at the taxi rank at Galleria, they were told the pair had jumped into a taxi headed for Isipingo.
“While I was being robbed, I kept telling myself to stay calm, not look at their faces, but remember a description of them, and not to make any sudden moves.
I will never go back to the bird park. I will never feel safe there again. It was the worst experience of my life.”
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