SBS ROBBERY: WAS IT A MAN OR WOMAN?

MATSAPHA – Was it a man or a woman? This is the dilemma which is faced by members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), who are investigating the about E0.5million Swaziland Building Society (SBS) armed robbery.

Impeccable sources have revealed that even though the bank teller who reported the robbery alleged that she was robbed by an armed man, it appears that the suspect is a woman. This information was gathered by the investigators after they watched the closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footage, of how the about E0.5m armed robbery took place.

Again, it was gathered that some of the SBS staff members who saw the armed robber by the bank in Matsapha when they knocked off, suspected that she was a woman. This was because the robber had a tattoo on his/her leg, just above the ankle, something which is mostly done by females.

Also, some of the people who’ve had a glimpse of the footage said the suspect had features that may lead one to think it was a woman. The source said this left the police wondering whether those who had given insight on the robbery were concealing evidence by stating, as a matter of fact, that the teller  was robbed by a man.

The CCTV camera footage also showed the armed robber boarding a white seven seater car near Star Paint, which is about 500 metres from the robbed bank.  Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said members of the public who wanted to assist the police should look at the features of the robber. “It does not matter whether it’s a man or a woman, we just want to apprehend the suspect,” she said. Others say the theory that the robber was a female may be used as a trick to throw investigators off trail of the real suspect.

Accomplice

On another note, it was gathered that the police were also trying to find the owner of a VW Polo which is suspected to have been driven by the robber’s accomplice on the day.

This comes after the CCTV footage showed the driver of the vehicle walking around the bank before the robbery and he was seen talking on his mobile phone.

The source said the police managed to get the registration numbers of the vehicle but when they checked its owner, they found that the registration does not exist in government’s car registration system.

He said this made the law enforcers to believe that the driver of the car intentionally put counterfeit registration numbers in order not to be detected. Again, this publication gathered that after the robbery, the security guard knelt down and prayed due to trauma.

Meanwhile, Tommy Kirk, the owner of the shopping complex which houses the robbed SBS branch said the businesspeople within his compound were living in fear of being robbed as well.

However, he maintained that if the police could use the structure which he offered to them to use as a police post, the business community could do business without fear. On that note, the businessman reminded the police service that their mobile post which they were using, was allegedly sitting on his land illegally.
He added that he was willing to engage the police in talks over the usage of the structure because his offer still stands.

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