Voetsek, mom tells hijackers

AN ELDERLY mother, who told armed hijackers to “voetsek” and to “take the car but not my son”, said she mentally prepared herself for the worst.

Zainab Dawood, 66, and her son, Riaz, 39, were on their way to visit friends in Merebank on Sunday afternoon when they were accosted at an intersection on Himalayas Road.

Dawood said her son, a home-based accountant, needed fresh air and left the driver’s side window of their VW Polo open.

She spotted three casually-dressed men near an Armco barrier and when they approached, both mother and son assumed they were beggars.

“One of the guys grabbed the keys from the ignition and told us he wanted the car, wallet, and cellphone. When Riaz tried to snatch the keys, he pointed a gun at him and instructed us to get out of the car.”

Dawood said she told Riaz to remain silent and give them what they wanted.

“The second guy tried to steal my handbag and I told him to ‘voetsek’ and ‘get out from here’. I told him, ‘you want the car, take the car but not my son, leave him alone’.”

Mother and son exited the vehicle, but unbeknown to Dawood, the men grabbed onto Riaz and threw him in the back seat.

“When I realised what happened, I asked them why they took my son but they pointed the gun at me and drove off.”

She said they covered Riaz’s eyes with a beanie and dumped him in uMlazi about 30 minutes later. The staff at a nearby crèche helped him contact his family. He was shaken but unharmed.

Dawood said a motorist took her to the Wentworth police station where she reported the incident,

“I cried all the way to the station, praying to God to help Riaz.

“He is my wealth, not the car. I thought of my late father, mother, and husband. They gave me motivation to be brave.”

She said this was the first time they had been affected by crime.

“It’s sad that we cannot keep our children safe anymore but I have made peace with what happened. We came alone and we will go alone. Allah gave us the strength.”

Dawood lives with Riaz in Clare Estate. Her younger son lives in Pretoria and her daughter works in South Korea.

Police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala, said a case of car-jacking was opened at the uMlazi SAPS.