Cops, residents ‘smoke out’ robbers
Police, with the assistance of bystanders, smoked out and apprehended two of three assailants who had robbed a motorist who ran out of fuel in Nelson Mandela Drive last Wednesday.
POLOKWANE –Â George Norman contacted his friend, Jeanette van Rooyen, asking her to follow him with her car as he was on his way to the petrol station and he was not sure he would make it, as his vintage Chevrolet Bel Air was low on petrol.
On the bridge between the Matlala road and a fruit and vegetable retailer, he ran out of petrol and used the vehicle’s momentum to drive to a taxi pick-up next to the road.
Van Rooyen stopped next to him and both were busy under the hood of the car trying to pour a little petrol into the carburettor from a container George had with him in the car, when three men approached them.
One asked if they could assist, but moved in between Norman and Van Rooyen. She saw he had an opened Okapi knife in his hand. She tried to move away but another of the attackers grabbed her and throttled her while frisking her to see if she had anything valuable on her person. The third attacker opened the car door and searched inside for valuables. A cell phone was found to be missing later.
Norman in the meantime struggled on the grass next to the car to fend off the man with the knife. Passers-by saw what was happening and a man who is known to the victims came to their assistance, kicking the attacker who was wrestling with Norman.
More passersby came to their aid and the attackers fled, running a few metres towards the bush before calmly starting to walk away.
The passers-by gave chase and followed them through the veld in the direction of the Matlala road. One person stopped three policemen on their way in a vehicle, telling them they were following three attackers and the police also gave chase. The attackers tried to hide in bushes just off the Matlala road.
The police, under a certain Sgt Chokwe from Westenburg, arranged with the bystanders to surround the bushes while he started a fire around the bushes to get the attackers to abandon their hiding place.
One of the attackers fled his hiding place and was immediately arrested. Another attacker also decided to attempt running away and in the process tried to attack one of the bystanders with the knife. He was also apprehended by the police, who confiscated the knife.
The assailants were taken to the Westenburg Police Station where a case was opened. The police were waiting for the dog unit as the other attacker, who got away, was suspected to hide in a pool of water nearby. The three suspects were thought to be Zimbabwean nationals who were sought by the police for terrorising and robbing pedestrians in the area.
Norman was slightly injured during the attack while Van Rooyen was shaken but unharmed.
Westenburg Police Spokesperson, Const David Nkoena, on Friday said the third suspect has not yet been apprehended and the other two were still behind bars.
