Armed robbery in Harare, Zimbabwe, May 2008
These are the antics typical to South Africa, now it is happenning in Zimbabwe where it is believed ANC’s Thabo Mbeki lived under Robert Mugabe’s protection during the years of struggle against Apartheit. Is this perhaps why the “quiet diplomacy” of the appointed United Nations liason only results in further violence as is typical in his country of rule, South Africa? The order by higher authorities not to react to lawlessness in relation to politically motivated (and suspectedly Government sponsored) violence has given rise to many other crimes by opportunist of the moment! -THE DRUMMER
Quoting from victims of this weeks criminal activity…
Dear Reader
Just to let you all know of the terrible Trauma we were put through last Sat am at 2.45am.
At about 2.45am on Saturday am I was abruptly awoken by a good slap on the right side of my face & on rolling over was confronted by a robber who had a 9mm pistol pressed against my forehead & my skinning knife raised in the air above my face (He had already found it in my bedside draw !!!). At the end of the bed was another Guy with a 22 pistol & on Kerry’s side of the bed was another guy with a black 9mm para pistol. They told me they were here for forex & lots of cash & I would die if I did not give them the same.I asked if I could wake my wife up which I did & then the tall Guy with the 22 became aggressive & pulled our duvet off & said he was going to kill us. At this stage the 3rd chap walked down the passage & found my ten year old daughter asleep in Her bed ,she jumped up & ran to our room & jumped onto the bed & held onto her mother with all her might. This Guy then took up his position at our door ,hiding in the gloom ,only with his weapon protruding ,he did not want to be identified.
For the next 45 mins we went through hell – interrogations ,threats of rape, of taking my daughter with them etc etc if we did not give them forex.The tall chap was particularly aggressive & kept threatening my little girl with the gun in her face if she did not shut up.All through this period the guy who had woken me was searching draws brief cases bags etc etc to find the forex,I gave him 3,5 billion Zim dollars (about 15 USD at current Black-Market rates) & he laughed & said he knew I had a lot more forex & then told his mate to cut off my wife’s toes with the bolt cutters & I can tell you when they grabbed her foot I thought that was it. I kept talking to them calmly saying we were just a poor Christian Zimbo family who did not have much especially forex as we earned Zimbabwean salaries. They kept calling me a liar & using the Girls as a weapon against me with threats of rape, abduction etc etc. (Bravely my wife addressed them in their own language and that really helped our situation immensely). During this period they found my Ping 1 wood & 2 pellet pistols in my room & I offered both golf lessons & to teach them now to load the pistols which took their minds off the violence & wife’s Jewellery, which in the mean time she slipped into her mouth & the somehow managed to hide it in the duvet covers whilst I was negotiating with these clowns. Then suddenly the tall one went mad grabbed our phone & tried to cut the line with the bolt cutters ,when this failed he went ape & grabbed the phone jumped on it & the ripped the cable apart.They then said they were going to take all our goods as we had not cooperated & then took all our car keys & housekeys & then said they were locking us in our room & would kill us if we tried to move, We have no key to our room so they closed the door & we could here them opening the interleading security grill & going through the girls’ handbags & other stuff in the lounge & kitchen. After 15 minutes of waiting my wife encouraged me to get the hidden shotgun. I was really nervous cos I thought if I went for it they may come back & kill my Girls, but eventually I made the dash, grabbed the cartridges (ssg ) & set up for the last stand behind my bed. At this stage I had put the girls in my bathroom. My plan was as the door handle moved, I was going to blow all the mothers away .I had made up my mind. But in the mean time with all Kerry and Annie’s prayers, a miracle happened – my Son Darren came home at around 3.30 & could not get through the gate or reach us by phone as they had cut all the lines & stolen all 5 cell phones. His music was on full ball & we could hear him banging on the gate.I can only assume the thieves heard all this ,thought it was a reaction unit & made a run for it. Well, Darren couldn’t get our attention so he drove off to stay at his mates house. I was glad! It is the first time I have been happy with him coming home late !!!!
I waited a few minutes then leant out the window & fired 6 shots into the air & we then heard a car speed of, this obviously contained our attackers. We found one set of keys & I cleared the area with a few more shots & we called for our staff who had heard the shots, but did not know where it was coming from.
At this stage you have no phones ,no vehicles & no phone numbers. Fortunately Kerry could remember her Brother’s phone number & he arrived just after 4 am with the police. What a relief & after all this we lost 3,5b ,2 laptops & 5 cell phones ,they took nothing else.
To cut a long story,we were very lucky. Annie is very traumatized & like Kerry & I cannot sleep for worry of a return trip. Our alarm was not working & they came in through a bathroom window that was not closed properly, they simply cut through the burglar bars with bolt cutters & entered without making a sound.
The lessons are simple ,keep your windows closed ,16mm plus metal bars cannot be cut with bolt cutters ,make sure the internal & external alarms are working ,have a few panic buttons handy & make sure you are connected to a reaction unit. Do not keep a weapon under your pillow, because when they wake you up you have no chance of using it ,rather keep it hidden close by & when they move out you can grab it .These guys checked under my pillows & mattress, under the bed before they even started negotiating. SO BE PREPARED, & RATHER BE SAFE THEN SORRY.
There is a lot more detail but this is the guts of the story.
In closing I would like to thank all our Family & Friends who have been quite amazing during this time ,we couldn’t have come through this all so well without you Guys. Finally we thank the Lord for the small miracle & for keeping us out of harms way ,it could have been a lot worse.
Take care
Love
Nathan, Kerry, Annie and Darren
