Kupheleni – A woman opened a door in the evening for her attackers who pretended to be neighbours prior to being forced with her children to withdraw cash from the ATM at gun-point.
Balingene Dlamini testified in the Mbabane Magistrates Court that she was a victim of an armed robbery by two men, Kidwell Dlamini and his alleged accomplice, Bongiswa Mabuza.
She said from as early as 4:15 pm, they were held hostage prior to being forced into the car with the two men accused of the crime. She said she heard a knock at her door, and when she asked who it was, the men claimed they were from her neighbours, the Kunenes. The two accused attacked the woman who remained alone with the children. They forced her to hand over valuables worth over E20,100.
“When I opened the door, I was punched in the chest and fell in front of my children,” she said.
The woman was ordered to hand over all the cash in the house, smart wrist watch, her bank cards, cellphone, and other valuables then forced her and the children into a car, driving-off with them to Oshoek.
They then instructed the woman’s daughter to withdraw money from the bank cards. When the withdrawal limit was reached, the men drove the family to the Rits café where they proceeded to make a second withdrawal of E4000 from an ATM.
The woman said her attackers were armed with a gun and a knife.
They had time to charge her phone after the battery died before they proceeded to the Rits café. Inside the car, they would occasionally stab the car seats, assault the woman’s children, shouting at them and telling them that they are not scared of death while they drove at a high speed.
The duo further remarked that if police were to come for them, they would not hesitate to fire back at them. When they were done, the woman said, the two men warned her against calling the police, threatening to come back and kill her.
One of the two men, Kidwell, appeared in court and was convicted. Mitigating, he told the court that he was remorseful for putting the family through trauma.
He said he would reform. He also said he unintentionally became part of his accomplice’s plan.
Kidwell said his friend planned the whole thing because he confided in him about some challenges he faced at home. He said his friend needed money to purchase dagga which he would resell in South Africa to get out of his challenges.
He then asked for a lenient sentence. However, senior magistrates Sifiso Vilakati condemned the men’s actions, telling Kidwell that every action has its consequences, before ordering him to remain in custody until August 13 for sentencing.
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