The former minister was with his son when the incident occurred.
“Two suspects jumped out of a vehicle and went to Mr Moleketi’s vehicle with firearms. Mr Moleketi managed to run to the house and called the police,” said Constable Thabo Malatji from the Yeoville SAPS.
The men took cellular phones and luggage from the vehicle and fled the scene. This robbery is one of several incidents reported to SAPS where people were followed from the airport and robbed either at their homes or local hotels.
Some of the recent cases that were reported include the vice-consul of Angola and the delegation he was with, who were robbed at a hotel in Bruma.
The latest incident took place on Monday last week. A security guard was shot during a robbery at another hotel in Bruma. Constable Mpho Mashakane, Cleveland SAPS communications officer, said a man and his friend left the OR Tambo Airport to go to the hotel they were booked in. They drove into the premises and parked the car.
While offloading their luggage three men approached them and demanded their belongings.
When the robbers tried to exit the building, the security guard refused to open the boom gate. They shot him in the thigh and fled.
Bedfordview and Edenvale NEWS, reported on several incidents of people being followed from the airport. The NEWS also reported that at least two incidents are reported to police every week.
In a recent article in the NEWS, provincial SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Neville Malila, said that there is a task team investigating these crimes. Yet they continue to occur.
Mr Malila was contacted for comment and he referred the NEWS to Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, spokesperson for the Gauteng SAPS.
“At this stage it is not clear whether the former minister was followed from the airport but police will investigate that possibility. Investigations in the case of the former minister are continuing and no arrests have been made,” said Lt Col Dlamini.
He said members of the Hawks investigate all cases involving people who are followed from the airport. “Several people were arrested in the past,” he said. The NEWS asked him if syndicates are involved in these incidents. “At this stage this office is not aware of a syndicate operating from the airport,” explained Lt Col Dlamini.
He said cases that were investigated in the past involved foreign nationals who alleged they were followed from the airport. “There are police vehicles that are static on all major highways in the province. Therefore, police will respond to those incidents quicker,” said Lt Col Dlamini.
