Robbery in Botleng leaves one dead
Once outside the premises, she saw her client from minutes ago lying on the pavement.
A scene resembling a Wild West movie recently unfolded on Nelson Mandela Drive near the Botleng Mall in Delmas.
A transaction to send money from SA to Mozambique went wrong and left a Mozambican dead at about 17:00 on April 9.
According to information, a Mozambican national who helps clients transfer money via the M-Pesa money market received a call from a client wanting help with a transfer.
A trio, the Mozambican customer, the Mozambican assistant from M-Pesa and her friend met near the Unjani Clinic. They apparently discussed rates but did not reach an agreement. After the customer left, four armed men approached and demanded the M-Pesa money.
The assistant told them that she did not have any money. The robbers then searched the M-Pesa premises, took R3 000 and the workers’ cellphones and left.
The assistant said that within seconds, she heard gunshots. Once outside the premises, she saw her client from minutes ago lying on the pavement in the Mandela Drive circle, bleeding.
The details of what happened thereafter are unclear, but apparently a shooting ensued between the suspects and other people on the scene.
The suspects fled over the R42 and disappeared into the maize fields of a farm across the road. The police attended to the wounded Mozambican on the pavement. The money he wanted to deposit with M-Pesa was nowhere to be seen.
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An ambulance arrived, and according to a reliable source, the medical personnel immediately began to resuscitate the gunshot victim, who bled profusely from a head wound. They transported him to the Bernice Hospital, where he later passed away.
In the meantime, police, with help from a private security company’s staff, AfriForum’s Delmas Valke Neighbourhood Watch and Sundra Bulldogs members searched for the four armed robbers, using drones over the maize fields, the R42, the R50 and the N12.
They spotted and followed a blood trail but could not find an injured robber. During the search, the team saw a suspicious black Toyota Conquest parked on the R50/N12 onramp. Inside were four men.
The team asked why they had stopped at the side of the road. They told the police they had run out of fuel. When the police wanted to search the vehicle, the robbers scattered on foot.
A chase ensued, and all the police caught all four and took them back to the Toyota Conquest. The officers searched the car and found the victim’s passport and money, marked with a piece of paper containing his name.
Officers also found a purse and bag allegedly belonging to the M-Pesa woman inside the vehicle. They arrested the gang and detained them at the Delmas Police Station.
At the time of going to print, the deceased’s family had not claimed his body. It was said he lived in the Waaikraal informal settlement on the R42 between Delmas and Bronkhorstspruit.
The Delmas SAPS opened a case of murder and the suspects appeared in the Delmas Magistrates Court on April 14. Regarding the person who left a blood trail in the maize field, no one has come forward, so it remains a mystery.
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