A businessman was shot as a Kwelera couple were robbed of R20,000 in a brazen mid-morning attack in Gonubie on Saturday.
Thembisile Mfanekiso, 51, his wife Nokhaya, 58, and their two grandchildren, 8 and 11, were travelling in their vehicle towards Santini township in Gonubie at about 10.50am when they found the road blocked off with boulders as they approached. The couple sell chickens to customers in the area.
When they slowed their vehicle, four armed men appeared.
“We were attacked by four men carrying guns. They could not have been over 30 years (old),” Nokhaya, who also owns a fleet of taxis, said.
She said their attackers would have been people who knew they frequented the area regularly.
“Those men shot my husband in the chest, his right side, and took his gun. I have bruises on my upper body as I was beaten with a gun. My body is still sore. My husband is in pain but we are grateful to be alive,” he said.
“Our grandchildren scattered into the township as this happened. It was such a terrible thing and they are still traumatised now.”
The woman's purse, containing the R20,000 as well as the couple's IDs and bank cards, were also snatched in the robbery.
“We fought for our lives and it was traumatising. My husband drove to hospital while bleeding. My fear is that they can use my husband's gun to commit crimes and fraudulently use our IDs and cards."
Mfanekiso said they were planning to use the money to pay off their taxi instalments and tend to their needs.
“It's all gone now. We will not go back to that place but we will continue with the business. The taxi industry is not stable enough to sustain us. That is why we started this other business but this will not deter us.
Nokhaya did not believe the attack was linked to taxi violence.
“They were just people who knew us and our business in Santini. The way they did this, it was calculated.”
Police spokesperson captain Hazel Mqala confirmed a case of armed robbery and attempted murder was opened.
"No arrest has been made yet. The investigation is continuing," she said.
ziyandaz@dispatch.co.za
Kwelera couple ambushed robbed in Gonubie
A businessman was shot as a Kwelera couple were robbed of R20,000 in a brazen mid-morning attack in Gonubie on Saturday.
Thembisile Mfanekiso, 51, his wife Nokhaya, 58, and their two grandchildren, 8 and 11, were travelling in their vehicle towards Santini township in Gonubie at about 10.50am when they found the road blocked off with boulders as they approached. The couple sell chickens to customers in the area.
When they slowed their vehicle, four armed men appeared.
“We were attacked by four men carrying guns. They could not have been over 30 years (old),” Nokhaya, who also owns a fleet of taxis, said.
She said their attackers would have been people who knew they frequented the area regularly.
“Those men shot my husband in the chest, his right side, and took his gun. I have bruises on my upper body as I was beaten with a gun. My body is still sore. My husband is in pain but we are grateful to be alive,” he said.
“Our grandchildren scattered into the township as this happened. It was such a terrible thing and they are still traumatised now.”
The woman's purse, containing the R20,000 as well as the couple's IDs and bank cards, were also snatched in the robbery.
“We fought for our lives and it was traumatising. My husband drove to hospital while bleeding. My fear is that they can use my husband's gun to commit crimes and fraudulently use our IDs and cards."
Mfanekiso said they were planning to use the money to pay off their taxi instalments and tend to their needs.
“It's all gone now. We will not go back to that place but we will continue with the business. The taxi industry is not stable enough to sustain us. That is why we started this other business but this will not deter us.
Nokhaya did not believe the attack was linked to taxi violence.
“They were just people who knew us and our business in Santini. The way they did this, it was calculated.”
Police spokesperson captain Hazel Mqala confirmed a case of armed robbery and attempted murder was opened.
"No arrest has been made yet. The investigation is continuing," she said.
ziyandaz@dispatch.co.za
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