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afrol.com / AENS, 9 February - A senior South African diplomat in Malawi's capital Lilongwe was assaulted and robbed by four panga-wielding men this week. The men, who appear to have had inside help, ambushed Helen Crous' Lilongwe in her garden just after 8pm on Wednesday night after she was lured outside by a security guard. The guard disappeared when the men cornered her and began beating her with the handles of their pangas. They then dragged the 60-year-old diplomat from room-to-room in her upmarket suburban house, demanding money and other valuables. A traumatised Crous recounted on Friday how the men kept jabbing a rifle barrel into her face and threatening to kill her during the ordeal. "They only found foreign money, and some cheque books, but they refused to take them and demanded money in the local currency. They kept saying they had come for me and obviously wanted to rape me," said Crous. Crous, who serves as third secretary at SA's High Commission in Malawi, was eventually tied up and blindfolded before she was thrown on the floor in her bedroom. "I was terrified, totally helpless. I just kept forcing myself to be docile and to co-operate and not to aggravate them. I heard three of the men leave, and just lay there until the fourth man eventually left. I only got up and untied myself when my dog came into the room," said Crous. - I am still very angry. I have been robbed. My privacy and dignity have been taken away. This place will never be the same again. Malawi police spokesman Oliver Soko labelled the attack as "tragically unfortunate" on Friday and stressed that police had stepped up security around all diplomatic homes. "This kind of incident is unacceptable. When diplomats or diplomatic staff are attacked or robbed, the image of our entire country is affected," said Soko. He added that a highlevel investigation team had been established to probe the attack and try track Crous' security guard down. The unnamed guard apparently stopped Crous from going to bed on Wednesday night, telling her that she had forgotten to lock her vehicle earlier in the evening. "I was irate, because I'd been home since 6pm and he hadn't said anything earlier. I had already switched off most of the house lights, but eventually relented and went to check the car because he was so insistent. The men cornered me at the car," Crous said. "I screamed for help, but the guard was gone." Crous has been in diplomatic service since 1972, serving in several African countries but has never been the victim of violent crime before. "It was a truly horrible experience," she said. Neighbours and even ordinary Malawians criticised government for failing to control violent crime in Lilongwe or provide decent security for diplomats. "The attack shows just how careless this government is. Government was supposed to deploy armed policemen as security guards at diplomatic residences. Instead we have a senior diplomat from a very important country beaten and robbed by thugs. Can you imagine the consequences if she had been raped and murdered," said neighbour Peter Nthizo. By Brian Ligomeka,
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