POLOKWANE – Judas Malebanda told about his encounter with the latest trend in crime in the city. He said about a week ago he had been on his way to deliver food and was travelling down Schoeman Street when he noticed two men crossing the street moving between the slow-moving traffic.
“Because the traffic was moving slow I also had to drive slowly, moving at around 20 or 30 km/h. I had just pulled away to cross Jorissen Street when I noticed two men beside me. I would have passed them safely so I didn’t pay them much mind but the next thing I knew one of the men jumped forward and shouted something right next to me. This made me lose my balance and the motorcycle slipped out from underneath me,” Malebanda said.
He added as soon as he hit the ground the men were on top of him and grabbed his cell phone and the money bag he had with him. “They even took the food that had fallen out of the box at the back of the bike. It all happened so fast that I could not stop them, they left just as fast,” he said.
BONUS spoke to several shop managers who do deliveries and they said this was not an isolated incident. Aside from robberies like Malebanda’s, delivery drivers have also been called to places and then robbed once they get there by a group of people.
Malebanda said he opened a police case but added it was impossible to identify the men, and the money and food is now lost.
Polokwane Police Spokesperson, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba, could not confirm the case at the time of going to print and he urged residents to help in the matter and report any suspicious activity or robberies. He said the people who commit these types of crimes are known to communities and he urged the communities to take hands with police and report them anonymously so they can help bring a halt to crime.
