Manenberg police are on the hunt for a skelme vark who attacked a 70-year-old ouma in her Heideveld home and choked her until she agreed to give him money.
The terrified granny has been left traumatised by Thursday morning’s attack, in which the robber slammed her onto her bedroom floor.
The elderly woman, who asked not to be named, says her shouts for help caused the man to panic and he made off with her Motorola cellphone.
“It was at about 9.30am, I was in the room doing some ironing. My husband went to the gym and I heard a tick-tick noise, but thought it was the wind,” she explains.
“I have a big boerboel, Tina, and she is very protective over me, but she did not bark once. At first I had no idea how he got in because the doors and gates were locked.”
She says the skelm, who wore a floppy cap and had four front teeth missing, appeared out of nowhere and pounced on her.
ACCESS: The skelm broke the back door lock
“He threw me on the floor and choked me. I didn’t know what he wanted. I didn’t know if he was going to rape me, but then he asked me where is the money,” she says.
“I told him to let me get up and I will give him money and that is when I screamed and the neighbours heard me.”
She says the skelm panicked and demanded she open the front door and let him out.
“The neighbours phoned my husband and the police. I didn’t even know there was a second man waiting outside,” she says.
“Afterwards we realised that he broke the lock of the back door and bent the burglar bars and climbed through. That was the tick-tick sound I was hearing. I was so scared.”
ACCESS: The skelm broke the back door lock. Picture: Monique Duval
Her 72-year-old husband says he rushed home from the gym to be with his wife.
“These are worldly things, I just wanted to get to her,” he says.
“They only took her cellphone, but I am just relieved because it could have been worse. We have been living here for 24 years and something like this has never happened.”
Manenberg Police Station commander, Colonel Sanele Zama, confirms the incident and says detectives are on the hunt for the men responsible.
“The incident was reported and our detectives are following all leads to catch these suspects.”
Anyone with information about the two skelms is asked to call Manenberg detectives on
082 220 4113.