Armed robbers hit pub

The Bohemian, or ‘The Bo’ as it’s affectionately called by its patrons, was turned into a crime scene by eight armed male robbers on 30 July.

This grungy pool hall or pub situated on Perth Road in Westdene was hosting about 40 music and beer lovers when their fun was abruptly clogged.

Afrikaans band DJ Ossewa’s Rudolph du Plooy (Vet Frik) fell prey to these robbing scavengers.

“The first thing I saw was when one guy came in and picked up his T-shirt and there was a gun…he started shouting, telling everybody to lie down,” recounted Vet Frik.

“At first I thought it was just the one guy and I tried to get out of the way, when seven other armed man walked in,” he added.

The guests and staff members were terrified as they lay face down while men bearing weaponry traversed around the pub.

“One of the robbers stood over me… he then pulled me over… put his hands into my pockets and took my cellphone, wallet and watch,” said a seemingly now calm Vet Frik.

“I was very scared and tried not to provoke him – to us it felt like 20 minutes but it was probably five minutes,” he added.

The armed man – understandably in control of the pub – stole from all guests, and took the liquor from the bar.

Larceny was not enough for these raiders.

“They hit a few people to try and get attention, they even opened up one of the waiter’s eyes,” commented Vet Frik.

“As they moved out, I think I heard one of them shouting, ‘keep lying down’ and as he moved out I saw some of the people starting to get up, but I wasn’t sure if they were all out so I lay down for a few more seconds,” he said.

When the guests finally found the strength to stand up, the robbers were driving off.

Bohemian owner Joe Pweehuysen said measures to further secure the restaurant are underway.

“We will up put cameras and see what else we can do,” he said.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” he added.

One of the witnesses took down the vehicle’ registration details.

“We hope that something will come out of the case and the cops are handling it well,” he concluded.

According to Sophiatown Police Station’ Warrant Officer TJ de Bruyn, no arrests have been made.

“Some of the victims say they might be able to identify them [assailants] if they see them again,” said De Bruyn.

“The case is still open and we will hopefully make some progress,” concluded De Bruyn.