ON the morning of Friday 24 Ursula Wilson (46) went to the Southdale Shopping Centre, where she cashed a cheque for R5 250 at Standard Bank.
After receiving the money from the teller, she immediately broke it down into smaller amounts because it was the wages of the staff at a furniture business she manages.
She put the money in her bag, exited the bank and walked through the mall, passed Nedbank and Mr Price. Suddenly a man and a woman came up behind her and pointed something (which could have been a gun) at her back.
The man linked arms with her to appear as if they were friends, and the woman told her she should walk with them or they would kill her.
“I walked out of the mall; deep into a nearby veld, where there were no people to see us. On arrival, two men came out. Now there were three guys and one woman.
“They started hitting me and they took my shoes off. I was thinking they were going to rape me. They tied my feet and hands with shoelaces and began beating and choking me. Then they asked where the money was that I withdrew at Standard Bank. I told them that everything was in the bag.
“They took my bank cards and asked what my pin number was. I told them that I did not have a pin, I cashed a cheque,” she recalled.
While the men continued to attack her, the woman opened her bag and told her to shut up or else they would kill her. She took her cell-phone, ID book, the money, all her bank and business cards.
Fortunately they did not see her car keys fall out of her pocket while they were beating her. She put her foot on top of them to hide them. One of the men pulled off her wedding ring and her 10-year anniversary ring.
“One man was choking me and that’s when I started praying out loud: God, help me, help me, I have small children. Then they heard me praying and they ran,” she said.
Ursula immediately started biting and scratching the shoes laces with her car keys to cut them loose. She ran to a nearby factory because motorists would not stop for her. She explained what had happened to the factory security guards, who told her it was not the first time something like that had happened. One of their colleagues went to the same shopping centre and a man and a woman appeared and took her into the same piece of veld.
“On that afternoon, my son went to that veld to see where they took me. He was so traumatised, he was crying and he said: ‘Mommy, they could have killed you!’ “He found the cap I was wearing, the shoelaces they used to tie me, a shoe that could belong to another woman, and documents which belong to a white woman and a white man. The veld must be the spot where these violent robbers take their victims.
“I want people to be aware of what is going on. I am just happy that I am alive and I can still see my children and my husband. It was a very traumatic and very, very bad experience.
“When I left Standard Bank, I walked passed Nedbank, but when they were beating me, they asked where that money I withdrew from Standard Bank was? How did they know I had money from Standard Bank?” she asked. Ursula concluded in saying that she can never forget the face of the lady who was with the men when they robbed her. Her doctor gave her sleeping medication but that woman’s face stayed in her mind.
The police are currently investigating the case.
