'I don't hate whites'
2006-06-13 13:32
Johannesburg - A 26-year-old man told how he was held up by a gang of robbers at his girlfriend's parents' house in Bedfordview, Johannesburg.
Kevin Dyer, a software developer, had gone to visit his girlfriend on Friday who was celebrating her birthday and was set to have a party at the house that evening.
Dyer told News24 that he would rather not give the names of the girlfriend and her family.
The robbery happened around 16:45 when armed men held up the girlfriend's brother as he arrived at the house. When the garage door did not open, which was unusual, he got out to inspect it and was held up armed men who had arrived in a 4x4 double cab bakkie.
Wanted to open the safe
There were between three and five armed men, and they were confident, in their early 20s, well-dressed and even seemed educated. Dyer said they did not seem nervous at all.
At one point, one of the robbers said to Dyer, "Do you want to know why I'm doing this? It's not because I hate whites, I just want money."
Dyer said the man had told them that he had white friends, though he did not know why the man felt compelled to tell them this.
They did not seem to him to be in need of money though.
"They didn't look desperate," he said.
The men held up Dyer, his girlfriend and her brother, and waited for the girlfriend's parents to arrive to open the safe. They pistol-whipped her mother and forced the father to open to the safe.
The safe apparently contained only an envelope and once the men had this in their possession, they ran off.
Though Dyer and his girlfriend's brother both offered the men their cars - one of which was a BMW - the men did not want them, saying they would probably have tracking devices in them.
They took cellphones, jewellery and also went through the girlfriend's parents' room looking for things to take.
After the men left, the family called police, who were on the scene within 10 minutes - and then the birthday party went on, because the food had been ordered and it was too late to cancel, the family felt.
Dyer said his girlfriend and her mother were badly shaken.