2 MTN OUTLETS ROBBED

KWALUSENI – Two MTN Eswatini outlets have been robbed in a space of a week. The first incident happened when a daring armed robbery suspect, who  was severely beaten by a mob last week, robbed an MTN Eswatini outlet together with two others.

The incident occurred at the MTN outlet situated in Kwaluseni, right next to the OK Foods complex.
The suspects, who were armed with pistols and knives, took advantage of the power outages around the area and pounced on the other at around 5:30pm. last Tuesday.

When two of the suspects entered the store, they allegedly pretended they wanted to use the services there and requested to be assisted.
When one of the cashiers told them that they had already closed due to the power cut, one of the men approached the counter and allegedly pulled up his sweater and brandished a pistol which he had hidden underneath his clothing.

“When we realised that the suspects were armed, we panicked. They ordered us to hand over valuables and cash. They also ordered that we lead them to the safe room where they found nothing. This was after we had told them that management did not keep money in the safe. The other one jumped over the counter as well and loaded cash inside a backpack, together with some cellphones. We were ordered to remain silent or they would kill us,” one of the cashiers said in statements submitted in court.

Gun

The suspects then fled the scene but one of them mistakenly dropped the gun he was carrying.
“At the time, it was raining hard and we had already started screaming for help. The suspect who had dropped the revolver was chased after by an angry mob and eventually apprehended. He was thoroughly thrashed using all sorts of weapons, fists and kicks. Some people also resorted to using rocks and bricks,” another witness said.

The suspect allegedly tried to apologise, however, the angry mob told him that they were tired of robbers who took advantage of people who worked hard for their livelihood.

Insults

The mob also hurled insults at him, enquiring why he had committed a serious crime during the day as it showed that he had no respect for other people. Some of the residents managed to call the police who promptly arrived at the scene.
 The mob was ordered to refrain from taking the law into their own hands as they would be arrested.

When the police arrived at the scene, they asked the man to produce a licence for the pistol and it was discovered that it was an illegal firearm.
As the mob assaulted him and asked why he had committed the robbery, he kept on saying he was trying his luck.

The suspect was later taken to the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital where he was admitted as he was severely assaulted by the mob.
Two of the suspects including the injured one, Hloniphani Maziya (29) of Mphosi and Mduduzi Masika (34) of Bulandzeni, were subsequently arrested by the police.

The two made a court appearance before Magistrate Mthokozisi Dlamini at Matsapha Circuit Court on Friday.
They were charged with armed robbery and two other charges of contravening the Arms and Ammunitions Act. The accused persons were informed to move a bail application at the High Court.
Meanwhile, one of the accused persons is still on the run.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati advised people with information which might lead to the arrest of the suspect to contact the REPS toll free lines, 999/9999 or contact their nearest police stations.
The accused persons were remanded in custody until Thursday pending the setting of their trial date.

The second incident happened in the capital city when MTN Eswatini employees reported to work but little did they know that thugs had broken into their office and stole money amounting to E42 000. The robbery happened in one of the company outlets near the Mbabane Magistrates Court.

Discovery

The offence is suspected to have been committed robbery on Sunday night but the discovery was made yesterday morning. It is suspected that the thugs gained entry into the outlet through an opening after breaking a window glass. When the outlet was visited, members of the public who were equally shocked by the incident were found near the place.
Police officers had already put a yellow tape to avoid disturbance while making an assessment inside the outlet.

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