A mother and daughter have been left traumatised after what was supposed to be a treat going to get takeaways downtown has left them fearing for their lives to leave home in the future.
Thuli Mtsweni and her daughter, Slindokuhle Nzima, decided to get something to eat from a fast-food restaurant at around 13:00 on Saturday, August 17.
What had been a fun-filled happy day turned into something traumatic.
They ordered their food, and while they were waiting for their order to be ready, two unknown men came into the restaurant, allegedly posing as customers.
They saw one of the men roughly grabbing another woman in the restaurant but just assumed that they were having a domestic incident.
Before they knew what was happening, a gun was allegedly being pointed at them.
“I was so scared they were going to shoot us. I feared for our lives. I have never had a gun pointed at me and the look on their faces was making me very scared,” Mtsweni said of the harrowing event.
The armed men allegedly started shouting at them to hand over their phones and their money, continuously pointing the firearm and threatening to shoot them.
In the meanwhile, the staff from the fast food chain allegedly hid themselves in the back of the shop behind closed doors in fear of their own lives.
“This has left us severely traumatised. My daughter and I are both struggling to sleep. My daughter is struggling to focus at school.
We have both been affected by this and feel we are no longer safe to leave our home, even for something as simple as getting something to eat,” she further said.
It seems something as innocent as scrolling on your phone while trying to pass the time while waiting inside an establishment can lead to a robbery.
Nothing was stolen from the shop itself, as it appears the suspects were only interested in taking a few things and making a quick getaway, as they ran out of the shop and allegedly jumped into a white Toyota Quantum, that had false number plates on and fled the scene.
“I’m still trying to process everything that happened. I’m feeling a bit shaken and uneasy after the robbery. It was a traumatic experience, and it’s hard to believe it happened to me.
I’m trying to stay strong, but it’s been a tough few days. I’m just grateful that no one was hurt,” were Mtsweni’s final thoughts.
A case of armed robbery has been opened with Witbank SAPS, and the investigation is ongoing.
“We would like to warn the public to be vigilant at all times, even when just standing and waiting around. We all pass time by scrolling on our phones, which makes us all easy targets for criminals wanting to make some quick money.
Take note of your surroundings and try to keep cellphones out of sight at all times, if possible,” commented Captain Eddie Hall from the Witbank SAPS.
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