WATCH: Rosettenville witnesses describe bloody ordeal

From wrapping up a home renovation to hiding from flying bullets inside a rubbish bin, this past Monday afternoon took a dramatic turn for a Johannesburg construction worker, when police and a group of suspected robbers engaged in a deadly shootout in Johannesburg’s Rosettenville neighbourhood.

The construction worker’s small frame stood him in good stead, as he had to frantically find a place to hide, when gunfire exploded around him late on Monday. His attempt to jump into a 90L bin was initially unsuccessful, but he told The Citizen how he managed to escape the shootout by roping in a second bin.

“I decided to lay the bin flat on the ground and pulled up another to cover my exposed part. I lay still and quietly prayed for God to save my life,” the 25-year-old explained on Tuesday.

He spent the better part of an hour there, praying as police and the group of robbery suspects exchanged gunfire that left eight suspects and one policeman dead.

As he remained concealed in the bins, freighted, his co-workers thought he was killed in the crossfire, with one of his co-workers who brought him to the site anxious about how he was going to tell his family.

“He was wearing blue work trousers and a black top so when I looked around after the shooting had stopped, I saw someone wearing the same clothes lying dead on the ground. I was sure it was him. Moments later I saw him slowly emerging from one of the rooms and I have never been so happy…”.

The painter from Mpumalanga, who also did not want to be named, says moments after the shooting started, they saw men scaling the wall into their site, with one donning overalls and pretending to be part of the work crew.

He said in then there was a loud banging on their front steel gate as police shouted for them to open the gate.

“I opened the gate and was ordered to put my hands on the hand as several police officers rushed in and opened fire. I was taken to the police vehicle and locked in as the gunfight ensued,” the worker said.

CIT robbery foiled

The man explained that he and four co-workers were putting the finishing touches to the ceiling paint job of the house they were renovating, when suddenly the quiet Monday afternoon was filled with the roar of a low-flying police helicopter.

A volley of automatic gunfire erupted from the back of the house opposite theirs, and what unfolded next is evidenced by puddles of drying blood and a chunk of what appeared to be human flesh on newly-laid tiles which remained on Tuesday.

Also Read: Number of suspects killed during foiled CIT heist rises to 8

According to neighbours, the house under renovation was the second of the three scenes as some of the robbers scaled perimeter walls into adjacent yards to escape as they shot at police but were cornered and slain.

The shootout had apparently started when a multidisciplinary team led by the National CIT (Cash-In-Transit) Task Team in Moffatview, South of Johannesburg, intercepted information that at least 25 suspects were on their way to hit a cash van.

The suspects allegedly opened fire on the police helicopter, wounding an Airborne Law Enforcement Officer (ALEO), and police responded with fire from above and on the ground.

By the time the smoke settled, at least eight suspects had been shot and killed, and ten suspects had been arrested – two of which are under police guard in hospital.

On Tuesday the house in which they made their stand’s freshly-painted white ceiling was splattered with blood, with the front door where one of the suspects appears to have been shot riddled with bullet holes.

There were seemingly so many shots fired that crime scene technicians had not collected all the spent stun-grenades and R1 shell casings that could still be seen near the front door on Tuesday afternoon.

House with a reputation

The house in which police killed the eight suspects is apparently a known hideout for criminals and police have previously failed to act on information, according to neighbours.

The current owner of the house, a Nigerian national, moved in around 2017 and made alterations to the house, including adding backyard rooms and partitioning the main house for rental.

“He also built a tall wall around the property and our biggest concern was the kind of people that occupied the property,” community leader Agnes Skosana said.

She said two years ago they marched to the house with the intention to kick the occupants out and torch the property.

Skosana said on their way to the property, they were warned that they would be killed as the occupants were armed to the teeth and waiting. She said the area was being overrun by criminal elements and that this was why most people were moving out.

Skosana alleges that police have had information about the house since the end of 2017 but did nothing, saying the situation could not have reached this deadly point.

“It is just a miracle that no one was caught in the cross-fire because this is actually a busy neighbourhood, with a school just across the road and a crèche up the road. If police could act on information soon, it will not get to this. We are not xenophobic but scared and concerned citizens,” she said.

According to police, at least 20 of the gang of 25 suspects were Zimbabweans and among the ten arrested was a Botswana national, believed to be the mastermind behind several hits on cash vans.

A former caretaker, who did not want to be named, said he had warned the owner of the property about accommodating criminals, especially drug dealers but he would not listen.

“I told him to be careful of people he rents out rooms to and that some were dealing drugs, but still the number kept growing so I moved out. I was at work when I saw the property on the news and said to myself this had been long coming” he said.

siphom@citizen.co.za