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Another Bafana star targeted by armed robbers

YET another Bafana Bafana player has become a victim at the hands of gun-toting thugs who cleaned out his house.

Bidvest Wits captain Sibusiso Vilakazi's home in Orlando East, Soweto, was robbed by criminals who held his parents at gunpoint.

Vilakazi, a workaholic midfielder whose skills earned him the PSL Player of the Year award last season, is still in shock after the men broke into his parents' home and pointed firearms at his parents, demanding to know his whereabouts before robbing them. The incident happened at around 4am on Saturday.

Vilakazi, who was sleeping in a cottage on the property during the commotion, said he did not hear a thing.

"My younger sister and my parents were inside the main house when these guys woke them up and pointed firearms at them. They wanted to know where I was and asked for keys to my car which was parked inside the yard," said the player yesterday.

"They kept poking my mom with the gun as she refused to tell them where I was. They said she will die because of me if she did not cooperate. They then tied all of them with a rope and helped themselves to items in the house. Their footprints lead up to my room and I'm still baffled why they did not come inside for me," said Vilakazi.

According to police, the men used a crowbar to gain access into the house. Police spokeswoman Captain Phephi Matlou-Mteto said cash, TV, a cellphone, clothing and house-keys were some of the items stolen from the house.

Vilakazi's mother, Nofikile, opened a house robbery case at Orlando East police station and no arrests had been made by yesterday afternoon, Matlou-Mteto said.

Vilakazi said the incident had psychologically affected him and his family, especially as it happened within days after the murder of Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa last month.

"I've been trying to come to terms with Senzo's death and now this happens. I'm concerned that they specifically asked for me and that they even pointed their guns at my mother.

"What would have happened had she told them that I was sleeping in the outside room? I bought the house for my parents last year for their peace of mind and never expected something like this to happen," he said.

This article was originally published in the Sowetan newspaper on 4 November

sifilel@sowetan.co.za