A Rand West City Local Municipality DA PR councillor has found himself on the wrong side of the law and the party he represents after he was arrested on Tuesday, 18 September for business robbery in the Johannesburg CBD.
This councillor, whose name is being withheld at this stage, was part of a gang of about seven males who robbed a PEP Store in Hillbrow at gunpoint.
According to a police statement, the perpetrators held the customers and cashiers hostage and instructed them to open safes in the manager’s office. Various types of cellphones and the cash from the tills were taken by the perpetrators.
The perpetrators also took boxes of DSTV dishes, speakers and PC boxes. During the incident, the cashier was slapped by one of the assailants and the security guard’s cellphone was also taken before the perpetrators left the scene.
The report indicated that a few minutes after the incident, members of the Hillbrow Police Station who were passing by, noticed two suspicious African males getting into a grey Mercedes Benz.
“The officers approached them and started searching them and found them both in possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. The search continued and number of items were recovered in the vehicle, including the recently stolen security guard’s cellphone.”
According to the photos from the scene, DA regalia (T-shirts and caps) was also found in the car.
“The owner of the Mercedes Benz was also arrested. The witnesses at the PEP Store identified these individuals as the people who had robbed the shop. Three of them were arrested, and one of them has been identified as a councillor in a West Rand Municipality,” the statement read.
The DA leadership has been approached to verify the information about the councillor who is implicated in the matter.
John Moodey, the Member of the Provincial Legislature and DA Gauteng Provincial Leader, confirmed the allegation.
“The Democratic Alliance notes with concern the arrest of one of its PR councillors from the Rand West City Local Municipality in Randfontein on charges of business robbery and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.”
“The councillor is alleged to have been part of a group that robbed a PEP retail store in Hillbrow who were found to be in possession of the stolen goods.”
“The DA will remove any public representative from office if they are found guilty of wrongdoing, regardless of their position. The councillor will be placed on immediate suspension, pending the outcome of the case.
“If he did indeed commit an offence, he must face the full might of the law,” Moodey said in a statement.
He concluded by saying that the DA will not shy away from holding its own public representatives accountable.
