The police in Thohoyandou are investigating a cash-in-transit robbery at the busy Venda Plaza shopping complex on Wednesday, 7 June, where 10 masked robbers shot and wounded two Fidelity guards before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of money.
According to Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, three security guards (from Fidelity Cash Solutions), one being the driver, had just arrived at the Capitec Bank at the shopping complex at around 12:00. One of them, Mr Golden Nefale, allegedly got out of the company vehicle and started pushing a trolley loaded with suitcases of cash.
"He (Nefale) was shot in the back and stomach and his pistol was taken, while the other security officer, Mr Shadrack Jabulani (39), was shot twice in the right arm and his R4 rifle taken. When the driver of the Fidelity vehicle, Mr Joseph Ngoma, heard the gunshots, he sped off and drove directly to the Thohoyandou Police Station, as there was still a bulk [of] money inside the security vehicle," said Ledwaba.
Former police officer Rasikhinya, who witnessed the incident, told the police that six of the ten masked male suspects had been carrying rifles, while four of them had had pistols. The CCTV footage shows them fleeing the scene in a Ford Ranger open bakkie without number plates.
Ledwaba said the victims had been taken to the Tshilidzini Hospital with serious injuries. Eight rifle cartridges and four pistol cartridges were found at the scene, as well as two live rounds and a percussion cap.
No arrests had been made at the time of our going to press.
Another eyewitness, who does not want to be named, said she had just arrived to do her shopping at the shopping complex that day when she had heard the gunshots. "I did not know what was happening. I was so frightened, I nearly fainted. I just ran to the nearest shop around the plaza and hid myself. I regretted coming to the plaza. One does not feel safe to even do your shopping around Thohoyandou anymore because of the robberies and crime," she said.