Victims recount horror ordeal of N4 Pretoria rock trap robbery

Rock trap robberies occurring on the N4 highway east of Pretoria have threatened the lives of yet another group of unsuspecting people.

“I feared for my life,” victims of the most recent robbery said as they recounted their ordeal to Pretoria Rekord.

The attack

Pretoria resident Koketso Ramalebana said she, her husband Mosa and two family friends had been driving on the N4 on the night of 9 October, when they drove over a rock-like object that severely damaged a tyre.

“The tyre burst and we thought the rim cracked because there was a huge sound.

“Initially, we thought it was not safe to stop, but there was another car that had stopped with people outside not too far from us and so we stopped,” she said.

“My husband went out to check the tyre damage and a man in VW Polo came to assist us. As they were talking, two men came out of the dark bushes.”

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Ramalebana, a financial advisor, said the two had guns.

“One cocked the gun, pointing it at my husband and said ‘give me your phone,’ and my husband did.”

She said the men also robbed their male friend of his phone.

“They then came to us two ladies that were seated at the back, and asked for our phones, but there was a bit of confusion.

Ramalebana said it was dark and they did not know where they had placed their phones.

She said the men then became aggressive, shouting “I want the phone” repeatedly.

Not only were they robbed, the men also touched her friend’s breasts while trying to find her phone.

 “One robber then came to me shouting ‘I want money’, and I asked him if he had the bag. He then said to me ‘I will shoot you’.”

She said although the thugs spoke Setswana, their accent had a “foreign element” that indicated it was not their home language.

The armed men then went on to raid the red VW Polo behind them.

“The man who stopped to assist us left his car keys in his ignition, but the robbers did not take the car, only his gadgets.”

Ramalebana said after their ordeal, they drove on the flat tyre to safety.

They ended up outside Savannah Country Estate, where security guards told them they were lucky they were not physically harmed.

“They told us that a man was shot twice a week before in a similar robbery on the N4.”

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Mosa attempted to track his iPhone, which showed it in nearby bushes, before signal was lost.

The phone was switched on again the next day in the Pretoria CBD.

“During the eight minutes that the phone was switched on, my husband received a call from a Nigerian guy who said strange things.

“My husband asked him about the phone and he said he did not understand, so he hung up. My husband’s phone was switched off after that.”

Police admit crime spike

When the group went to Silverton police station to report the crime, police told them of “tragic murders” that occur along the same freeway.

In one incident, a pregnant woman was shot.

“I asked what was done to address this, they told us they patrolled on Friday and Saturday and there were no incidents. They thought it was a quiet week, only for criminals to pounce on motorists on Sunday.”

Ramalebana said she did not have much hope in police recovering their belongings, as the case was closed on 10 October.

She said she hoped that the road trap crisis that continues to be a threat to motorists’ lives could be solved.

“No one is safe; our lives mean nothing to those robbers.”

After Pretoria Rekord’s inquiry, the police reopened the case.

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Good Samaritan a cop

The man driving the VW Polo that assisted the Ramalebanas was Matome Mashamaite, who works as a forensic investigator at Saps.

“I had stopped to check if the people in the car were safe because I heard the sound and saw smoke after they hit something on the road,” Mashamaite said as he recounted the robbery.

“I came out and greeted the driver. As I was about to tell him that we were in a danger zone, two guys, one with a shotgun and another with a pistol, came out of the bushes and ordered us to lie down.”

He said he pretended to lie down and as the robbers were talking to the driver, he crawled to the other side of the road to try to get help.

“I told myself they would rather shoot me while I sought assistance because I have witnessed things done to the victims.

“What came to my mind were the killings I’ve seen and I knew I needed to think fast.”

Mashamaite said he tried to stop other cars on the road, but no one stopped.

He said at Solomon Mahlangu Drive circle near Silver Lakes a taxi stopped and dropped him off in Hatfield, where he managed to get a diplomatic police car that took him back to the crime scene.

“They phoned other police for back-up and we went to the crime scene. We found my car with the keys, but the other car was already gone.”

He said the robbers took his phone, laptop and clothes.

“SAPS managed to lift fingerprints off my car after I went to the police station to report it.”

The father of one said he feared for his life. “That is why I ran to seek assistance, because I know what they are capable of”.

Mashamaite said he believed there were more robbers than the two that came out of the bushes.

“As I sought help on the road, four other cars stopped, and occupants of one told me that they were also robbed.”

Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Isaac Mculu said police were investigating the armed robbery on the N4 freeway between Simon Vermooten Street and the bridge.

Mculu said the police were determined to solve the road trap crimes that continued to put people’s lives in danger.

He said the police regularly patrol the hotspots.

“This is one of the first incidents we have had in months, and we will conduct more patrols to ensure the community’s safety.”

Mculu conceded that road trap crime is a big issue in Pretoria.

“We are working hard at arresting these people,” he said.

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Previous incidents

In May this year, 30-year-old Wynand Vos was killed during a rock trap robbery on the N4. Two cellphones were taken.

In the same month, 25-year-old Juandre Kidson, who was travelling with his wife and their nine-month-old baby, was shot in the head after he had driven over rocks on the N4 highway, near the Brits Plaza tollgate.

And in February, three men were injured after two minibus taxis were shot at during a road trap robbery near Skierlik informal settlement in Boschkop.

Edited by Nica Richards

This article first appeared on Caxton publication Pretoria Rekord’s website, by Sinesipho Schrieber. Read the original article here.