Nelspruit – God saved a woman from being raped by her husband’s killers, the High Court in Pretoria, sitting in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, heard on Monday.

A Sapa correspondent reported that Güdryn Schoeman, 67, from the farm Vygeboom, near Badplaas, was testifying in the trial of Thomas Nyathi and Aaron Nkosi.

The two pleaded not guilty to robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, and the murder of Johannes Hendrik Schoeman, 86, on December 17, 2010.

Schoeman said before the attack she went to bed on the second floor of their home around 9pm, while her husband slept on the first floor. She woke up when she smelt something burning. She looked around the house. When she passed her husband’s room she heard him snoring.

“I went to check the kitchen and after finding nothing was wrong, I walked back upstairs again to check. As I looked inside my husband’s bedroom, two men attacked me.”

One of the attackers covered her mouth with his hand when she tried to scream. Her husband was unconscious at the time, but still alive.

“The criminals started demanding cash and weapons. I denied I had any money or weapons, which was true as we never kept any firearms. They hit me continuously with fists and one of them held a rusty knife to my neck.

“One of them pulled down my panties to rape me… I cried to the Lord for them not to rape me. They both touched my body but the Lord saved me from this terrible ordeal. They did not rape me.”

The attackers watched as she put her panties back on. They asked her for her ATM card and how much they could withdraw. After she told them they could only withdraw R2000, Nyathi took her husband’s tracksuit jacket, and both men used it to strangle him.

“They pulled… and I watched as his legs kicked up and down. I realised he was dying,” said Schoeman, who burst into tears. Court was briefly adjourned.

She testified later that the two put her on the back seat of her husband’s car and drove away.

“They wanted to put me in the boot but I refused. I sat with Nkosi in the back seat and Nyathi was the driver,” she said.

“He drove like a maniac and when we reached the T-junction at Machadodorp I jumped out of the car and hurt my ankle.”

She said two trucks drove past her while she stood in the middle of the road. The men then came back for her and threw her down a 3.5 metre deep embankment. They dragged her back to the N4 and the car. They drove to Belfast and when they got to an ATM they asked for her pin number.

She was not sure if they got the money, but eventually got back in the car and sped towards Carolina.

“I started singing to Jesus. I then asked Nkosi to repent to Jesus. He then asked me why Jesus let both of his parents die. As we saw the lights from Carolina I prayed to the Lord, saying only an accident can save me.

“Suddenly I heard the front wheel drive on the gravel and the car overturned and rolled over.”

When she got out of the car she saw two police officers. She was taken to hospital.

The trial continues.

Sapa