The incident which was reported to the police happened at Mveledzo Recycling project in Marlboro. The project is part of the Alexandra Development Centre which is on 2nd Avenue, Alexandra.
Centre officials have informed this paper in the past that the centre and the project had been robbed several times in the past two years, and all the incidents were reported to the police but no arrests have been made.
In the latest incident, four project employees and a man who provides them free recycling material escaped with their lives after five men, one wielding a gun entered the project premises and demanded keys to a van that had been hooked with a trailer.
Explaining the incident one of the workers, Khulani Sithole who declined to be photographed for fear of reprisal, said the suspects entered the premises with one pointing a gun at them and demanded the van’s keys. He said the workers and the man were forced to lie on the ground. Two of the suspects searched and took the man’s wallet, phone and shoes while the other three attempted, but failed to start the van. They then escaped on foot. No shots were fired but the incident left the five men traumatised. The incident was immediately reported to the police.
The project manager Lucy Motsepe who was not present when the incident happened said the premises were no longer safe. “Before, they burgled the place at night and now they did it in daylight, in public view and people almost lost their lives,” she said.
“They humiliated, scared and almost injured the workers and also a private person who supplies us free material to help raise income to support employment of locals and other projects of the centre.”
Motsepe expressed worry that people wanting to help them may not be forthcoming as their security could not be guaranteed.
