Carryou’s General Manager and pastor was recently robbed of thousands of rand after attempting to save the Non-governmental Organisation from financial ruin.
Reverend Lawrence Mabaso, 63, recently took it upon himself to help the organisation with its financial difficulties. The financial difficulties at Carryou lie in insufficient funding, mainly from government. While the government does regularly fund the organisation, the funds fall short at the best of times.
Consequently, he decided to dig into his pension fund and give the funds to the ministry, but he was robbed of the R33 000 he wanted to give away on Tuesday, 25 October.
Mabaso explained that after bringing the matter before the Carryou council and the council approving the decision, he went to the bank to withdraw the funds.
He said he felt uneasy about going alone, so took a young employee with him. Once he got to the bank, he stood in a queue for over a half an hour. When he eventually got to the teller, he felt uneasy about how publicly such a private matter was being handled.
“Everyone could see the money-counting machine and because there were many people in the bank, we had to speak louder and that made me very uncomfortable,” he said.
Once the money had been counted, it was handed to him in a black plastic bag that he described as being ‘slightly torn’, making the money visible.
He met his companion outside the bank and decided to buy two pies before driving back to the Carryou offices.
Upon arrival at the offices, Mabaso claims he and his companion were confronted by an unconfirmed number of robbers.
“One was armed. The people in the office hid in another room when they saw the weapon,” he said.
Mabaso claimed that the robbers acted as if they knew exactly where the money was. They took the money as well as Mabaso’s wallet but threw his ID card back at him later, when he asked them to spare him the trouble of getting a new one.
Mabaso has since opened a case at the Randfontein Police Station. Captain Appel Ernst, the Randfontein Police spokesperson, confirmed the incident as an armed robbery and said the matter is currently under investigation.
Ernst explained the robbers fled the scene in a white Audi A5 with an unknown registration number.
The matter is being investigated by Warrant Officer Thabiso Duiker. He can be contacted on 011 278 8100 should anyone have any information that might assist in the investigation.
What is left now for Mabaso and Carryou to do is to recover from the robbery and find other means of assistance for the struggling Carryou.
Joy Hamann from the Randfontein Publicity Association has decided to assist the organisation by garnering support from local businesses and members of the public.
“If any of you can assist, even if it’s just a couple of hundred rand each, it would mean some of those who work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate will be able to put food on their own tables in November,” she said.
For more information on the initiative or to donate to assist Carryou, contacted them on 011 412 2013 or 011 693 2729.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
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