Umpha Manenzhe
The recent announcement of an 85,7% increase of robbery at non-residential places in Polokwane for the second quarter of 2020, is evident following various burglaries recently.
On 9 December, merely a day before the Provincial Police Commissioner, Lt Gen Nneke Ledwaba, expressed gratitude to the men in blue for an overall burglary decrease in the province, two break-ins took place in the city. The incidents were at the office of N.G. Pietersburg-Noord and FloraMed, respectively.
Karina le Roux, who spoke on behalf of the church, says their alarms went off and they were notified by the security company.
“The security company was very quick to respond and although the thieves broke two windows, they did not have time to take a lot and do damage,” she said.
There have been no arrests in this case and Le Roux expressed her relief that nothing was taken.
“We are grateful to our Lord Jesus Christ for his protection and we hope that those responsible will be caught before he they can do other harm,” she said.
Polokwane Station Commander, Brig Gift Makhubele confirmed the case and applauded the work of the security company as it supplements the work of the police.
In other incidents of crime; two business robberies took place in Polokwane in the early hours of Tuesday, 15 December.
Fryers Fontana and Fontana Liquor were robbed, seemingly by the same pair of robbers. In both stores, the robbers entered the building through the roof, however, the front door of Fryers does show signs of a break-in.
Fryers’ Manager, Neville Swanepoel, confirmed that the thieves tried to break the front door first and when they were unable to gain entry, they used the roof.
“The incident took place at about 04:00 and the estimated value of the items taken is R7 000.”
He says they managed to get away with the CCTV footage server, which makes it difficult for them to be traced. The robbers also took electronic devices and R500 in cash.
Elize Mackay, Fontana Liquor Manager, says the stolen items in their store is estimated at R16 000.
“The robbers took all our cigarettes and the small bottles of alcohol. None of our bigger or more expensive bottles were stolen and we assume it is because of how heavy they are to carry.”
The liquor store’s CCTV camera footage is held off-site and on the footage, at the shop’s entrance, the robbers breaking in at Fryers, can be seen entering the liquor store.
Cases of robbery have been opened at the Polokwane Police Station and the forensic team was on their way when Polokwane Observer visited the scene.
