A Berea couple who trade at the Essenwood market, selling beaded sheepskin slippers, were robbed of all their stock last weekend when robbers stole two suitcases from their garage.
Charlotte Mbali said the theft has killed their Sozee business. “Its bye-bye Sozee because we cannot afford to restock and insurance rejected our claim,” she said.
Rev and Mrs Mbali have been trading for 20 year. Their suitcases were stored in the garage because it was too cumbersome to heave them down the steps of their home every Saturday.
“The thieves gained access on Friday by forcing the lock of the side security gate. I noticed the theft of the black wheelie suitcase ( which contained T-shirts and children’s slippers) when I returned the car to the garage on Friday evening,” Mbali said.
Their bad luck continued on Saturday morning, when the Mbalis set out to register to vote and reported the theft to Berea SAPS. Within the hour they returned home to find they had been robbed again. “The second suitcase, a grey wheelie one, which contained all the sheepskin skippers was taken.”
Sozee sheepskin slippers have a unique design with beaded cloth covering the sheepskin and then secured by colourful binding. The T-shirts sold to support a vegetable garden in Clermont have a motif of green spinach growing from a car-tyre.
The Mbali’s hope that anyone who has seen the stock will contact Berea SAPS with information on 031 2771060.
