Pen in my Hand: Allan Heyl shares new book
He is the last surviving member of the so-called "Stander Gang" which robbed banks across the country in the 1980s.
MBOMBELA – “It was not me,” is one of the first things Allan Heyl says when he meets someone. Whether it is meant as a joke or not, it makes an impact, as Heyl is a key figure in the criminal history of our country.
He was the guest at Lowvelder’s Pen in my Hand evening on Thursday at A Bica Café, where he spoke about his new book; Bank Robber: My time with André Stander.
This book tells the story of his life of crime. He only just made it through matric, and after he dropped out of university, he got a job at Woolworths. Here he was also fired.
“When people tell you from a young age that you are no good, that is probably what you will amount to,” he said. He robbed his first bank because he had been fired, and needed money to pay his rent.
The law eventually caught up with him and he was sent to the Zonderwater prison where he met Lee McCall and Stander. They planned their escape together and continued robbing banks after.
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Heyl placed emphasis on the fact that they were never a gang, and that Stander was not his boss, but rather a close personal friend. “We were willing to die for each other. The only thing we fundamentally could not agree on was the fact that he was a Blue Bulls supporter,” Heyl laughed.
He said he and Stander spoke about poetry and music and challenged each other physically until breaking point. Their bank robberies, along with their third partner in crime, McCall, went off without a hitch. “We never planned it. We would just see an open parking space in front of the bank, stop and go in.”
He said nobody ever got hurt while they were robbing a bank. Both Stander and McCall were gunned down by the police.Heyl was arrested in the United Kingdom.
After his release he was imprisoned in South Africa, where he was rehabilitated. “That was the loneliest time of my life and I had no one to talk to.” He is now an author and motivational speaker, urging people not to follow the same path that he has.
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