Tshwane University of Technology students are falling targets to Arcadia bag snatching tsotsis.
A group of men are believed to be pick-pocketing students, or snatching their bags, as they board buses on Helen Joseph Street from the Arcadia campus to Soshanguve campuses.
An unidentified man, thought to be a bag snatcher, was beaten and chained inside a room last week by angry students who said they were tired of the police who were not helping them.
“We caught one suspect last year who was pretending to be a TUT student also boarding the bus. And last week the same thing happened. The guy will stand in the queue with a school bag, and when students get on the bus and push each other as they tend to do, he would start to search them, stealing their phones, money, iPads and other belongings,” a student explained.
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The suspect was beaten by students and chained inside a room at the Arcadia campus.
“We then called the police who escorted him out and they didn’t tell us when he will appear in court. A month later, he was seen by other students walking on the streets,” said student leader MJ Wa Azania.
“We are shocked to see him walking outside, it means the police didn’t do their job. After beating him, he confessed that he and other men were robbing TUT students. He also promised that he will never come to next to TUT buses again.
Wa Azania said both management and the security company hired by the university were failing the students by not employing a security guard to make sure students are not robbed of their belongings.
He said students get robbed daily of their expensive valuables such as smart phones, laptops, and wallets which carry their ID cards, bank cards and student cards.
“When you have lost all those valuables you won’t be allowed to make use of the bus let alone be allowed to enter the university’s premises. But they fail to protect us,” he said.
“We spoke with the spokesperson Willa [de Ruyter] who said they will get back to me but that has not happened. It has been over a week now since she promised to get back to me with solutions,” Wa Azania said.
Information Technology student Jeff Sithole (20) told the Rekord that managed needed to hire security guards as the situation was worsening.
“We need security at all the bus stations. We are not safe. They [management] should really think about our safety.”
There are not enough buses servicing the route, hence there is commotion which gives an opportunity for the group to steal from the students.
“We shall submit a memorandum to TUT management and the company managing the buses. We need more buses as the current system is failing the students,” he said.
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Wa Azania said street vendors and campus security officers were also to be blamed for the crimes happening at the buses terminus.
“They told us many times that they know who these guys are. Its either they are protecting them or working with them.”
He urged students to always check their bags when boarding or leaving the bus.
“Make sure your phones and all the belongings are safe, and always check who is standing next to you and always check your bag.”
TUT’s spokesperson De Ruyter, Tshwane metro police, and central police could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.
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