A grieving pensioner who lost the R15 000 she’d obtained for her son’s funeral in a brazen High Street robbery last month, has buried him, but is now nearly R30 000 in debt.
A grieving pensioner who lost the R15 000 she’d obtained for her son’s funeral in a brazen High Street robbery last month, has buried him, but is now nearly R30 000 in debt.
The Alicedale woman, whose identity Grocott’s Mail is withholding for her protection, was going to use the money to bury her son, who died in an accident in Pretoria on 11 January.
At the undertaker’s request, the woman withdrew the amount in cash on 26 January.
She then proceeded to the DA’s offices in High Street, where eight councillors had put their hands in their pockets to contribute R100 each to her funeral expenses.
However, when she was there, four armed men arrived, demanded the cash, and made off with it.
The woman, who is a pensioner, financed the funeral with a loan.
“I did manage to bury my son but now I don’t know where I will get the R28 000,” she told Grocott’s Mail. I am not working and depend on my old age grant.
“I promised the places that I will pay them with the Road Accident Fund money that I will get for my son’s accident.”
She said she was still traumatised, thinking the robbers would follow her to Alicedale and attack her again.
“However, I would like to thank the DA party eight councillors for their contribution,” the woman said.
Grahamstown police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender had not replied to questions about the progress of the investigation by the time of going to press, nor was the victim aware of any arrests.
