ARMED ROBBERS HIT CITY, GRAB OVER E420 000 ITEMS

MBABANE – As the nation enters the festive season, the City of Mbabane was under attack by daring armed robbers.

The determined robbers seemingly had no regard for the law as one of their targets, Sterns, is a few metres away from the police post at the Swazi Plaza.

The festive season requires one to have money and it appears some people are willing to do anything to make quick cash.

In separate incidents, gunmen robbed an Asian owned shop at Sidwashini and the internationally acclaimed jewellery retail shop, Sterns, on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Jewellery

At Sterns, they took 54 cellphones valued at E120 000, 74 units of jewellery worth E300 000 and four power banks valued at E1 800. The total value of the stolen items is E421 800.

At the grocery shop in Sidwashini, they took cash  amounting to E3 000 and three cellphones. 

It is suspected that the robberies were connected. In both robberies, the gunmen, believed to be three, were not wearing balaclavas and they did not hurt the shop assistants. Also, in both robberies, the gunmen were wearing masks, hats and/or caps, which they used to slightly cover their faces so as not to be recognised.

The robbery ‘spree’ began on Saturday just after 7pm at Rodela Supermarket in one of the complexes around  Sidwashini Industrial Site.

In the robbed shop’s CCTV footage, recorded on the night of the incident, three men are seen entering the shop like regular customers while there were no shoppers inside, but three shop attendants.

Two of the attendants were in front of the cash register while the other one was patrolling around the shop.

As soon as the robbers entered the shop, one of them brandished a gun in the air while the other one dragged one of the shop attendants who was near the cash register and forced him to lie down. The same robber forced another attendant to also lie on the floor next to her colleague.

The robber carrying the gun was standing in front of the cash register, ordering the third attendant to fork out money.

The third bandit, who was smoking, was standing by the doorway watching if anyone was heading towards the shop.

The robbery took about one minute and the trio left after grabbing the cash and three cellphones.

Mohammed Shohadi Islam, who was found at the shop, confirmed the robbery, saying it was not the first time a shop he operated was robbed.

“I have been robbed about four times now and in all the instances, the robbers were carrying guns,” said Islam.

robberies 

He highlighted that not all the robberies occurred in the shop at Sidwashini.

When asked if the bandits hurt them, Islam said they did not, but in another incident he was hit with a barrel of a gun on his head.  

However, he highlighted that during the robbery last Saturday, they threatened to shoot them if they screamed, calling out for help.

According to Islam, the gunmen took E3 000 in cash and three cellphones; one Nokia, one Huawei and one Mint brand.

Security officers were not around the complex during the robbery. According to close sources, the security officers on duty had gone to wear warm clothes during the time the robbery took place.

“In that spur of a moment when no security personnel was there, the robbery happened,” said the source.

The impeccable source narrated that the robbers left the complex walking at a normal pace, using the road which leads to Dalriach East, behind Engen Garage.

The following day (Sunday), at about 11am, another group of gunmen robbed Sterns. 

The robbers, who were wearing  masks and hats, were carrying a gun and took jewellery and cellphones.

According to close sources, the unknown men ran out of the shop after grabbing what they wanted and went through the small alley next to the public toilets, through the exit where they boarded a taxi.

It was alleged the taxi man drove the bandits to Mvutjini where they boarded their own motor vehicle.

Yesterday afternoon, when this journalist went to the popular jewellery retail outlet, one of the staff members was still doing stock taking. One of Sterns supervisors confirmed that the robbery occurred in their shop, stating that she could not divulge any information as advised by the police.

When asked about the value of the items that were stolen, she said she was not at liberty to divulge that information as they were still doing stock taking at that time.

Worth noting is that the robbery at Sterns took place a stone’s throw away from the police as the Swazi Plaza Police Post, which is less than 100 metres away apart from the jewellery shop.  

Swazi Plaza Marketing and Promotions Officer Siphiwe Nxumalo said they were aware of the robbery that took place on Sunday, December 6, 2020. When asked if the security in their property accounted how the robbery occurred in their presence, she said officers did give them a detailed account, however, not disclosing the information to this journalist.

Investigation

When asked what Swazi Plaza Properties had done with regard to the robbery, she said it was an ongoing investigation that was being handled byRoyal Eswatini Police Service (REPS). 

“Security is at optimum level, hence they responded swiftly to the incident and were able to gather critical information that is currently assisting the REPS with the ongoing investigation,” said Nxumalo when asked what they would do, going forward, to improve security and ensure that such an incident does not happen again.

Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the two robberies, stating that they would not confirm if both incidents were related as investigations are ongoing.

She also highlighted that no arrests had been made with regard to the two incidents. When asked how prompt were the police officers were responding to the robbery at Sterns since they were within proximity to each other, she was adamant that the law enforcers responded swiftly.  

“There were no gunshots, which would have invited the police to the scene while the robbery was still happening. However, I am sure they acted promptly after it was reported,” said Vilakati.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Shohadi Islam, manager of the shop that was robbed on Saturday night at Sidwashini Industrial Site said; “Masks are making it easier for robbers to do their ‘job’.” This is the view of Islam who said this while pointing it out that they could not recognised the three men because of the masks and the hats that they wore.“They did not need balaclavas,” said Islam.

Worth noting is that masks are mandatory to wear in the country as a measure to control the spread of COVID-19.

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