Outraged businessmen met with police officials in Colenso after a brazen robbery recently saw armed robbers using a taxi as a getaway vehicle. They demanded answers from the SAPS, as it took over an hour for police to respond to the robbery, just to be told by police officials that they only had one vehicle for the entire Colenso area.
Six armed robbers entered a butchery just off Colenso’s main street in the CBD and held staff hostage for over 30 minutes while they robbed the place. During this time, one of the robbers casually walked out of the butchery and went to hire a taxi about 100 metres down the main road.
The taxi driver was blissfully unaware that he was about to become the getaway vehicle for an armed robbery. The taxi was hired to transport several people to an outlying area.
The robber got into the taxi and as it drove down the road, he asked it to stop. The other men robbing the butchery calmly walked from the butchery to the taxi, jumped in and made good their escape.
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Attempts to call the police on 10111 and the 0364222222 station emergency number failed. Community members were only informed after the robbery that neither numbers were working at Colenso police station.
Several business break-ins have been reported over the last few weeks by local businessmen, as well as at least one other armed robbery involving eight men who robbed a mini supermarket in broad daylight.
In that robbery, the robbers used two bakkies and brazenly helped themselves to money and goods.
The robbers could be seen transferring goods from the shop to their vehicles for over 15 minutes before fleeing.
“It is clear that these men do not fear the Colenso police. The robberies are in broad daylight and they walk around openly carrying firearms. We, as businessmen, can only watch as they steal us blind. When we contact the police, the van is always somewhere else,” explained an angry businessman (his name is known to the Ladysmith Gazette, but he asked that he not be named for fear of being killed).
A tavern owner in a nearby township was also the victim of a robbery on Saturday night (January 11). Armed men entered his tavern and robbed him. After the incident, he made his way home, only to be robbed again when he arrived at his house.
“Colenso police cannot fight this. We need intervention from Ladysmith police,” added the Colenso businessman.
Colenso detectives are investigating a case of armed robbery.
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