Rivonia man fighting for his life in ICU after gang attack

A house robbery in Rivonia, Joburg, has left a man fighting for his life in ICU and a woman waiting for HIV test results after she was bitten by robbers.

A gang of about eight men gained access to the house in Terry Place Road on Saturday when a domestic worker was returning from the shops.

Two men walked up to her and pointed a gun at her head, demanding that she open the gate to the property.

Ed Dednam and his wife Laura came upon the robbery when they returned home.

Their son, Sean, 36, their daughter-in-law and grandchildren, a three-year-old and a six-month-old, were in the house.

Dednam said he and his wife had seen two cars parked in the street and a man standing in the street outside their home.

"My wife opened the car window and asked if he was looking for our domestic. He said no. I pressed the remote to open the garage and saw tools lying everywhere," he said.

Assuming his son had made the mess, Dednam went inside the house. When he opened the door to his kitchen he saw his daughter-in-law lying on the floor with a man standing over her with a gun.

That was when he realised his house was being robbed. He slammed the door and ran out of the house with a robber behind him shouting that he would shoot.

"I shouted to my wife to 'go, go, go' because she was still in the car and I ran to a neighbour to ask them to call the police."

But his wife was not able to get away immediately. One of the men grabbed her hand and started biting her fingers to get her rings off.

Another man came from the other side and bit her on the arm as she was struggling.

The gang fled and the Dednams found that their daughter-in-law and domestic worker had been beaten and their son was unconscious in the passage.

Dednam said four men had taken Sean to a bedroom where the safe was and had asked him to open it.

Sean had told them he did not live at the house so he did not know the code.

That was when they went to the garage to look for tools and came back to smash the safe open with an axe.

Sean was then brutally attacked. He was strangled, hit on the head four times with a blunt object and kicked.

"They hit him and chopped four cuts in his head," said Dednam. "They also kicked him. There was blood all over the show."

Paramedics took Sean to Sunninghill Hospital, where he is still in ICU. Netcare 911 spokesperson Nick Dollman said Sean appeared to have been tied up and beaten until he was unconscious.

He was taken to hospital in a serious condition. His wife had been kicked in the head and chest. The children were untouched.

"It was over in a flash," said Dednam. "But everyone is very shocked and my wife has to wait for HIV tests."

Laura believes the gang had been waiting in the road looking for any target when their maid came along.

She said: "It was potluck. They were just cruising in the street and unfortunately my maid was coming home."

Passports, laptops, cellphones, jewellery and a green BMW were stolen.

Inspector Moses Maphakela said the police were looking for the suspects. They believe about eight men were involved in the robbery.