A resident of Madombidzha village, Mr Stanley Malotsha, was left shocked after thieves had stolen his bakkie from his home. The vehicle was stolen last Wednesday (17 January).
Malotsha explained that his bakkie was parked at the side of his house near the window to his bedroom. When he woke up to prepare to go to work at around 04:50, he noticed that his white Ford Bantam was missing. "I received the shock of my life," he said. "I searched all around the yard and found that the thieves had cut open a gap in my fence."
It seems that the thieves had pushed the vehicle from behind the house and outside the yard through the opening that they had cut before driving away.
"We found the bakkie's canopy some 300 metres away from my yard," he said. "Words cannot express my pain and anger. I am saddened by this incident because it had taken me many years to save for that bakkie. When I bought the bakkie, I wanted to simplify my life by having a personal mode of transport."
Malotsha is a businessman who operates a spaza shop. He is now forced to return to the old method of purchasing stock from Louis Trichardt and using buses for transport. "The bakkie made things run more easily and smoothly," he said.
The registration number of his bakkie is DM 22LV GP.
He has so far posted details of his bakkie and a notice on social media in the hope that some friends would see the bakkie in the streets or somewhere else and help alert the police. One Facebook friend, Malumi Passa Ramadi, comforted Malotsha: "Criminals must be caught and be brought before the court of law. Don't worry and leave everything to the police."
The Tshilwavhusiku police's spokesperson, W/O David Nkanyani, confirmed that the police were investigating a case of bakkie theft. "We would like to ask anyone with information that may lead to the identification of the criminals or recovery of the stolen vehicle to contact the nearest police station," he said.