Mother tells of horror hostage ordeal

Khanyi Ndabeni HERALD REPORTER

THE woman held hostage for 16 hours on Monday in her four-roomed house with her children in Motherwell, Port Elizabeth, yesterday spoke of her ordeal.

This was after Nompumelelo Myali and her family were reunited with relatives and friends at a family house in Uitenhage.

Everyone was still shocked by the drama.

Myali, her husband Simphiwe and her sister Bulelwa Jack, who was the centre of it all, told how the man had forced his way into her house wielding a gun, petrol and matches after sending threatening messages warning family, friends and relatives that there would be “the funeral of the year”.

With Myali in the house were her year-old son Lisa, her other son, Mafixole, 19, and a relative, 23-year-old Simphiwe Wilskuit.

Simphiwe Myali said he had received a call at about 8am from his wife telling him that her sister‘s boyfriend was in the house threatening to kill her and the children and burn the house if he did not bring his girlfriend to him.

“For a moment it was as if the world had come to a complete standstill. I thought about my wife, the children inside and what he might do to them.

“At one point I thought maybe if I did not go to the police, as he had ordered, he might not kill my family. But when he wouldn‘t allow me in the house, I went to the Motherwell police station. I lied to him and said I was trying to get hold of his girlfriend.”

Inside the house Nompumelelo and her sons were ordered by the man to hand over the door keys and to put blankets over the dining room windows so that neighbours could not see what was happening inside.

He told them to take all the couches, radio speakers and mattresses and push them against the door to prevent easy access to the house.

“He had a gun and he kept saying, ‘There‘s going to be blood today‘. Those words made me shiver.

“I thought he was really going to kill us because we suspect he is the one behind the burning of my sister‘s house in Uitenhage.”

Nompumelelo said the man had earlier sent SMSes inviting family members and friends to “the funeral of the year”.

“When I saw the pistol, the petrol and matches he had, I thought this was really the day he had been talking about. But I kept praying to God to protect us.

“As we argued inside, I saw he was becoming calmer and I was less afraid of what might happen. It was about midday when he said he would leave us, but promised to come back,” said Nompumelelo.

When the suspect opened the door, he saw that the house was surrounded by police.

“He rushed inside. We were also surprised that the house was surrounded. My other son, who had been sleeping in the other room and was not aware the man was in the house, had joined us in the main bedroom.

“The man started making demands from the police, such as a landline phone and that my sister must be brought to him.”

Simphiwe Wilskuit managed to escape after demanding to go to the outside toilet.

“The man told us if we tried the same thing he wouldn‘t think twice about shooting us all. We were saved when the police task team entered the house at about midnight.”

Jack said she had never suspected that the man whom she had met and fallen in love with eight months ago could “be so cruel”. He had constantly accused her of cheating on him.

The man is expected to appear in court tomorrow.

To watch the interview on video visit www.theherald.co.za