“I just gave up at that point. I felt this was it; I was going to die today and told the man to just shoot me, as I could not give them the answers to the questions they were asking.”
GENOCIDE VICTIM: Ken Howell is traumatised after the attack which nearly cost him his life.
Ken Howell has a nasty scar after he was bludgeoned on the head with a gun.
Black attackers leave with pensioner’s earthly possessions
Ken Howell is haunted by nightmares after he was robbed at gunpoint at a business in Sutherland Street on Saturday, April 9.
After having his usual morning coffee, the 72-year-old, who resides on the business property, was planning to read a book. What he faced instead left him traumatised and completely changed his outlook on life.
“I just finished drinking my coffee and had a smoke on the veranda as I always do, when I decided to return to my room and read for a bit. This was at about 4.45am. I probably just sat down when two men stormed into my room and immediately tied me up. I felt a gun pointed at my head.”
Mr Howell said the men threatened to kill him if he did not give them money. “I told them I only had R70 and some odd change, but they could have it if it would help them. They took the money from me.
“All of a sudden I felt a blow to the head and when I looked in front of me, I just saw blood all over the table.”
The men demanded firearms, and Mr Howell explained he did not have any, as the business did not keep firearms on the premises. He said the men lifted him off his chair and started searching him.
“They kept telling me I was lying, even though I told them repeatedly we didn’t have any firearms here.”
Mr Howell claimed one of the men then pressed the gun against his head and told him it would be his last day.
“I just gave up at that point. I felt this was it; I was going to die today and told the man to just shoot me, as I could not give them the answers to the questions they were asking.”
The men pulled him off his chair again and threw him onto his bed, shouting at him not to look at them. They took his duvet and threw it over him.
“At that point in my head I knew this was where they were going to kill me. I lay there waiting for the gun to go off, but it didn’t. I heard them walking away and making a commotion somewhere on the premises, so I just waited for a few minutes before moving. They stole everything I owned; my cellphones, my wallet, my ID. They even stole all my clothes and left me with nothing but three pairs of underpants.”
“After a while, I knew they were gone as I wasn’t hearing movement any more, and I then motivated myself to move to my tool box.”
Mr Howell managed to get hold of his side cutter, which he used to free his tied-up feet, but he couldn’t free his arms because his elbows were tied together. Hands tied behind his back, he walked to the police station a few blocks away.
“The officers immediately cut my arms loose and took a statement. Two officials accompanied me back to the office, where a fingerprint specialist met us soon after.”
Project manager of the business, Willem van der Nest said staff were absolutely shocked when they were notified about the incident. Laptops containing confidential business information and documents, cellphones and an Ipad were stolen.
“This whole thing made us very upset. This is not the first time they have broken in here, but it is the first time someone was here and was hurt. We will definitely be upgrading our security systems to prevent this from happening again,” he said.
Lizzy Arumugum from the Newcastle SAPS Department of Communication said no suspects had been arrested yet, but police were investigating the matter.
“We are urging the community to come forward if they have any information relating to this case, which could lead to the arrest of these two men.”
Mr Howell said he was happy to be alive, and even though he was left a nervous wreck, he had already forgiven the two men who meant him harm.
” I am a Christian and I believe it [forgiving] was the correct thing to do,” he concluded.
Anyone with information about the robbery or suspects can contact Warrant Officer M. Sikhosana on 0795000403.
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