My survival instinct kicked in, says victim
A KIMBERLEY domestic worker told the Kimberley Regional Court yesterday that she had to make a quick decision on whether to lose her cellphone or handbag during a robbery which took place behind the DFA newspaper’s offices in the CBD.
Joyce Willemse was testifying during the trial of Randall Hughes, who is facing 27 criminal charges, including rape, attempted rape, robbery and kidnapping.
Hughes was arrested by police at his home in Roodepan in June 2015 on suspicion of having committed rape and attempted rape in Kimberley and neighbouring towns in the Northern Cape.
He apparently drove around in a metallic gold Toyota Corolla and pretended to be a good Samaritan who offered lifts to women. Police confiscated handbags, cellphones, sunglasses and identity documents believed to belong to his alleged victims from inside his vehicle and house during his arrest.
Willemse told the court that she was offered a lift by Hughes on May 23 2015 as she was walking to get her hair done at a salon near the Kimberley taxi rank.
“It was a Saturday afternoon, between 3pm and 4pm, when I went to do my hair.
“There is a shop next to the Kimberley Hospital Complex where I quickly bought airtime. As I was walking down the street from the shop, a car drove past me and the driver pressed his hooter.
“The car stopped and the driver offered me a lift. I was late at the time and accepted the lift. I got into the passenger seat and we drove off.
“The driver asked where I was heading and I told him I was on my way to do my hair. He told me he first needed to pick his daughter up before dropping me off as he was going to Boshof. I said that was fine,” said Willemse yesterday.
She went on to tell the court that they stopped behind the offices of the DFA where they waited for the man’s daughter.
“The man started looking around as if he was trying to find his daughter. He said the child was delaying him as he still had to go to Boshof.
“I also started looking around. The next moment when I looked back at him I saw he was holding an iron rod. The iron rod was shiny and had a hook.
“The man demanded that I drop my handbag and cellphone. At that stage I was holding my cellphone in my right hand as I had just loaded airtime on it.”
Willemse said that her survival instinct kicked in and she acted swiftly.
“I tried to open the car door and fortunately it was not locked. I threw my bag out of the car and my cellphone onto the floor of the car simultaneously. The reason I did that was to keep the attention of the driver on the cellphone while I got out of the car.
“When I got out I told him to give me my cellphone and he said he would return it if I gave him my bag. I refused and he drove off.”
Willemse said she later reported the incident to the police after her employer convinced her to do so.
She said that she, along with other women, attended an identity parade in June.
“We were a group of women who were transported from the Kimberley Police Station to correctional services. We were told not to talk to each other.”
Willemse said that she positively identified Hughes during the identity parade.
“The officer at the parade did not tell me that the person who robbed me was one of the men in the line.
“They said I should look and see if the person who robbed me was among the group of men. I positively identified the accused. That was the last time I saw him and I only saw him again now during the trial,” she added.
Hughes’ legal representative, advocate Japie Schreuder, said his client denied that he had anything to do with the incident and claimed that the complainant had mistakenly identified him.
The trial continues.