Forty seven passengers aboard a Citiliner (part of the Greyhound company) long distance bus came to a horrific awakening when four gunmen robbed the passengers.
This incident happened during the early morning hours of Saturday, January 19.
It is alleged that the bus was stopped at an Ultra City on the N12 highway going towards eMalahleni.
The bus was on its way from Johannesburg heading to Maputo.
The passengers were quickly overpowered when four unknown men boarded the bus.
The men were armed with guns.
Allegedly the bus driver was instructed to drive only 60km an hour while the suspects demanded valuables from the passengers.
The suspects also fired two shots through the roof of the bus in an attempt to get the passengers to obey them.
After collecting everything that they wanted, the suspects instructed the driver to stop the bus and they then got off and fled.
The total value of stolen property estimated to the amount of R180 000.
The bus driver took matters into his own hands and drove straight to the nearest police station, which was the Witbank Police Station.
Upon arrival at the police station passengers were attended to by medical services.
There were no serious injuries.
According to an SACCW (South African Community Crime Watch) representative Gavin Gates, this was the first incident of its kind, “This is the first incident of this nature and fortunately no passengers were hospitalized.”
It appeared that the suspects were after a specific person on the bus, someone with lots of cash on them.
“When the four men couldn’t find the person they were looking for, they instructed the passengers on the bus to give them their wallets, cell phones and passports,” Gates further stated.
Each passenger had to open an individual case at the Witbank Police Station but because the incident happened near Delmas, the dockets were transferred to the Delmas Police Station.
A total of six passengers out of the 47 opened cases and gave their statements.
Local traffic control officers escorted the bus and its passengers back to the Delmas Police Station.
“There were only 47 passengers on the bus and not 49, also according to the bus driver who gave his statement and opened a case, the number of suspects that got onto the bus was only four,” explained Captain Carla Hartley, Delmas communications officer.
“There was no injuries reported according to the witness statements in our dockets, I only work with the facts,” captain Hartley concluded.
WITBANK NEWS reached out to the company of whom the bus belongs to regarding the incident.
It was confirmed by the Greyhound spokesperson, Mr Jasen Smallbone that it was indeed one of their busses.
“In the case of an incident such as the one that occurred on Saturday morning, each passenger would be responsible for his/her own goods, Greyhound/Citiliner does not provide general insurance cover for its passengers, their property or luggage. It is the responsibility of the passenger to ensure that he/she is adequately insured,” Smallbone explained.
All drivers and crew members on a Greyhound or Citiliner bus are trained.
“Safety is one of our proudest attributes. All drivers and crew are carefully selected and professionally trained to meet all the required safety and service standards. All drivers are also sent for refresher training on a regular basis and undergo medical examinations every year.”
If you have any information regarding this investigation, you can contact the Delmas Police Station on 013 655 6825 or contact the investigating officer, Warrant Officer Jacques Smook on 072 479 1408.
