Attacked by gunmen in house robbery

Anna Maleka, 31, on Wednesday survived unscathed the terror of a house robbery surge which has gripped the city over the past two weeks. This is the second person in four days to be attacked by gunmen in a house robbery in Pierre van Ryneveld.

Traumatised: Anna Maleka, with her employer Nadine Pretorius, explains how she was held up at gunpoint by robbers at a Pierre van Ryneveld house where she works in Pretoria.

The crime wave has claimed the lives of three people and left four homeowners seriously injured.

Wednesday's attack occurred metres from where Pierre van Ryneveld Community Policing Forum member Jan Botha, 51, was shot on Sunday night in a botched hijacking while parking his car.

A visibly traumatised Maleka on Wednesday described how two gunmen spent minutes arguing among themselves about whether and how they should kill her.

Standing over her, one of the gunmen, who wanted to execute her, repeatedly cocked and un-cocked his gun centimetres above her head as his accomplice urged him not to shoot.

Maleka was washing a pair of shoes at lunchtime when the gunmen launched their attack.

The gunmen, one of whom shoved his firearm into her face, forced her into her room where they demanded the remote control for the gate.

Maleka, who is the sole breadwinner for her family, said as the gunmen pulled her from her room and dragged her into the house, they threatened to shoot her.

Tying her up on the floor of the main bedroom the gunmen once again demanded the remote.

Ransacking the room, one of the men, who eventually found the remote, charged at the hogtied Maleka screaming that he was going to kill her.

As suddenly as the attack began it ended when the gunmen, sparing Maleka's life, fled from the house in a Nissan 1400 bakkie.

Maleka, who managed to untie herself, raised the alarm when she ran outside screaming for neighbours to help her.

Pretorius said the gunmen had stolen a TV, a DVD player, jewellery and a camera.

Anyone with information on the identity or whereabouts of the gunmen can contact Crime Stop on 08600-10111.