15 years for Mams ambulance crew robber

The Gauteng health department has welcomed the conviction and 15-year imprisonment of a Mamelodi ambulance crew robber.

His three accomplices are still on the run and sought by police.

Two Gauteng emergency medical services (GEMS) members were abducted, assaulted and robbed after their ambulance was hijacked in Nellmapius, east of Pretoria on July 22, 2023.

Gauteng MEC for health and wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko welcomed the sentence handed down by the Pretoria magistrate’s court to Matome Tumi Sepesu (25) on April 24.

At the time Gauteng health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said the man and woman crew sustained minor scrapes and bruises during the assault and robbery.

The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning as the crew responded to an emergency call that a 48-year-old man had collapsed in Nellmapius.

“An ambulance was dispatched to the area from the Mamelodi base and on arrival in the vicinity of the address, two men waved [it down] and when the emergency responders stopped, the men pulled out firearms and forced the crew to drive to an unknown location,” said Modiba.

He said the assailants took the crew to a shack in bushes where they tied them up before driving off in the ambulance however the crew had managed to activate the panic button before they lost control of the vehicle.

He said after the assailants left, the duo untied themselves walked to a nearby squatter camp where they called for help.

“Their cell phones and other working tools had been stolen.

The criminals also used their cards to withdraw cash from their bank accounts.

The occupants of the home whose address was given during the emergency call reported that they never called for an ambulance.”

Modiba said the department tracked the ambulance to another location in Nellmapius.

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He said the vehicle was equipped with camera and tracking technology.

He said four robbers were involved but only one has yet been arrested, the other three are still on the run and a police investigation is ongoing.

Nkomo-Ralehoko said: “This conviction sends a strong message to criminals who are targeting healthcare workers discharging their duties trying to save lives in the communities.”

She said crews have been subjected to senseless attacks in some communities making it rather difficult for them when they respond to emergencies.

GEMS reported another two attacks this week.

Around 22:00, on Wednesday April 24 in Rieger Park, Ekurhuleni, two people robbed paramedics and fled with their PTT radio.

Modiba said the crew was treating a patient in the back of the ambulance.

He said a few hours later, around 01:30 in Eersterust, Mamelodi, another crew was robbed.

“The crew was also busy treating a patient when the suspect stole a cell phone. Fortunately, the suspect was apprehended by the police through the assistance of the community and CPF,” he said.

The phone was also recovered. The suspect appeared in the Hatfield branch court in Pretoria on Monday April 29 where he was released on bail and the case postponed to May 2.

He said the department continued to plead with communities to play an active role in the protection of healthcare workers and work with law enforcement agencies to stop the continuing attacks on healthcare workers because they have negative impact on the provision of healthcare services.

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