WHILE hijackers held a knife to his throat, flashes of his family, friends and three-month-old granddaughter flew through Louis Fourie’s mind.
The local resident and City of uMhlathuze Exco member was returning from a Provincial Committee Meeting in Pinetown on Monday evening when two armed suspects approached his vehicle and demanded his cellphone and cash, while he was stuck in a traffic jam along the M13 after 5pm.
‘They took my phone and when I told them I did not have any cash, they opened the door and tried to pull me out. Fortunately I was strapped in by my safety belt.
‘A taxi driver who was in the next lane saw the incident unfold and came running with his firearm.
‘He scared off the criminals and chased after them into a nearby shopping complex.
‘At the time I did not know he was coming to my rescue and thought he wanted to finish me off.
‘Two passengers from the taxi then came over to help me and take the vehicle off the road,’ he said.
Still in shock, Fourie said he has been traumatised since the incident however it has not changed his views towards people and the work that must go on.
‘This shows that while there are bad people about, there are still helpful and good people in the world too.
‘Citizens must remove that thought of ‘it will never happen to me’ from their heads and be alert, as crime is everywhere.
‘While it is frustrating to have lost my phone with contacts and information, I am glad to still be here and will not let this incident keep me locked in fear,’ he said.
Fourie was a victim of a hijacking in 1994 in eSikhaleni, stabbed at an ATM and robbed of cash in 2000 and in an armed robbery at an Empangeni business in 2010.
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