South Africa Car Hire

Pretoria - "I thought the gun was just to scare me, but then the shots rang out and I knew it was for real," said Daleen Verdoorn, 34, after three robbers had overpowered her family in their home.

Daleen's husband, Francois, 37, was shot three times - in the right foot and twice in the right leg.

He shot one of the robbers three times in the chest, killing him in the driveway.

Daleen said it was like a horror-movie scene, with shots being fired, her wounded husband and blood all over the house. Some of the bullets hit a wall, a fridge, the garage windows and her car.

"The two other robbers fled as soon as the shooting started.

"According to the neighbours, a fourth suspect was waiting in a getaway car," she said.

Daleen said the drama started when she arrived home in the evening.

Three came in with the car

"When I got near the house, I phoned to tell my husband that I was almost there. He opened the garage door and I drove in.

"I looked back to see whether the gate was closing.

"As I started to get out of the car, three of them suddenly appeared next to me. I started yelling, but one of them ordered me: 'Don't make a noise, we just want money'."

Francois fortunately saw through a window that the robbers had entered the garage with her car.

He ran to the safe to get his pistol. Meanwhile, the robbers had forced Daleen into the house.

"When I walked into the dining room, I saw my husband crouching behind a kitchen cupboard, cocking the gun."

"I walked past him, and just as the robber directly behind me was about to pass him, the man saw him and shot at him. My husband returned fire."

Locked herself in bedroom

"While the shots rang out, I ran to the children to see if they were okay. They were fast asleep.

"I ran to my bedroom, locked the door and called the police and security company. They soon arrived," she said.

Francois is recovering from his wounds in Kloof Hospital.

Inspector Anton Breedt said the police were investigating the robbery

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Johannesburg - The rand inched firmer on Wednesday, supported by the gold price's surge to a new 25-year peak, but traders said failure to break through the key R5.95/$-level could see the unit weaken during the session.
At 06:40 GMT the rand was trading at R6.00/$ after firming to R6.0275 in overnight trade.

"Initially, we saw some selling of dollars against the rand. 5.95/dollar is a key level and only a break of that will see the rand going down (firmer). Until that happens, I prefer rand weakness," said a trader at a major domestic bank.

The rand has gained 5.2% against the dollar so far this year, driven in part by a rally precious metal prices, but the R5.95/$-level has persistently held.

In Tuesday's Johannesburg session the local currency struggled to follow a stronger euro amid speculation that traders were wary of capital outflows after cellphone operator MTN announced it had agreed to pay $5.53bn for Dubai-based Investcom.

Speculation is rife that the foreign exchange component of the transaction may have been concluded last week, when the rand slipped to a 4-week low of R6.1830/$.

Gold soars

Gold hit a new 25-year high on Wednesday as fund buying persisted, driven by a weak dollar, strong oil prices and concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Spot gold rose as high as $669.30 an ounce before retreating to $668.90/669.90, still up from $666.20/667.20 late in New York on Tuesday.

Platinum rose to a record $1 176 before easing to $1 175 an ounce. The metal was last quoted at $1 174 an ounce in New York. South Africa is the world's largest producer of both gold and platinum.

The dollar inched down, hovering near recent lows against the euro and the yen, having failed to extend gains on renewed speculation about further US interest rate rises.

The euro was firmer at $1.2663, having climbed as far as $1.2667 in New York, and remained close to Monday's one-year peak at $1.2690.

South African government bonds edged firmer with the rand and in line with a recovery in US Treasuries overnight.

The yield on the most-traded R153 bond due 2010 dipped 2 basis points to 7.175%. The yield on the benchmark R157 bond due 2015 was flat at 7.405%.


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Johannesburg - Judgement in the Jacob Zuma trial will start on May 8.

"The court will now adjourn and judgment will be delivered 9 o'clock, Monday the 8th," Judge Willem van der Merwe said on Tuesday.

Van der Merwe told the Johannesburg High Court that he did not know at this stage how long delivering the judgment would last.

Afterwards Zuma shook hands with his lawyer Kemp J Kemp and was later whisked down Pritchard Street in his convoy.

Don Mkhwanazi, chairperson of the Friends of Jacob Zuma trust, was asked what he would be doing while waiting for judgment.

He said he did not know, but added: "I can't change anything now."

The former deputy president's defence team said earlier the police investigating the rape charge against Zuma tried to trap him.

Kemp J Kemp said: "If it happened the way you said, you set a trap."

He was referring to when Zuma allegedly pointed to the guestroom after being asked by an investigating officer, commissioner Norman Taioe, to point out the "scene of the crime".

Zuma said he and the woman who laid the rape charge against him had consensual sex in his bedroom on November 02 last year. The woman said she was raped in the guest bedroom.

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