The world’s media has quickly pounced on the story, with Huffington Post, Time Magazine’s time.com and Yahoo News among the international media agencies to broadcast the footage on their sites.
SABC News contributing editor Vuyo Mvoko was about to go live for the 7pm news bulletin, covering the arrival of Zambian president Edgar Lungu outside the Netcare Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg. In full view of the SABC cameras, two thieves accosted him and his crew.
In the video posted to YouTube by SABC, Mvoko can be seen calmly waiting for his segment to begin. One of the thieves enters the frame and reaches for Mvoko’s phone and pushes him out of view. Someone off-camera can be heard screaming. Mvoko said in a later interview that the other suspect pointed a gun at his crew and demanded all of their cell phones.
Mvoko said they left the scene on foot with three cellphones and the laptop used for the live crossing.
The footage of the crime has already sparked outrage by South Africans abroad, who commenting on social media, have reacted with embarrassment and outrage at what they describe as the “brazen and dumbest criminals”.
Watch the VIDEO here:
