Another construction company was hit in Grahamstown on Friday, with robbers making off with R20 000 in cash wages.
Another construction company was hit in Grahamstown on Friday, with robbers making off with R20 000 in cash wages.
Alicedale construction company owner Mbulelo Ngxesha and his wife, who asked not to be named, said they had just drawn R20 000 in cash from First National Bank in High Street and were returning to their car in Huntley Street, when two men robbed them at gunpoint.
Ngxesha said one of the robbers was a tall man who had been standing in the queue with them at the bank. After withdrawing the cash, the couple had gone to Checkers before walking back to their car. We went down to Huntley Street and parked there near Good Shepherd Primary School, said the woman – Ngxesha was still too shocked to talk to Grocott's Mail.
"I took the money out and by the time I was busy sorting it we saw this same tall guy again coming. He used sign language, apparently calling his colleague. Immediately they were over us, pointing guns. They took the R20 000 and took off immediately at very high speed."
She said she hadn't seen the driver's face because he wasn't sitting up straight and was hiding his face. She said the white car had sped off towards Beaufort Street.
The woman said she'd been unable to take down the car's registration because it had been obscured with paper. She said the money was meant to pay workers at her husband's construction company in Alicedale.
This is not the first time a construction company has been targeted on payday. In October last year, three armed robbers took R40 000 from the foreman at the building site of the new Allen Place complex. The cash was meant to pay casual workers their fortnightly wages.
Of Friday's robbery, Colonel Funisile Phillip of the Grahamstown SAPS, said, "A case of armed robbery has been opened and police are investigating. It seems like it will not be difficult to catch the two suspects because the woman says she saw one at the bank. It was going to be difficult to catch them immediately after they did that robbery, because they could have turned around and gone to the location to remove the paper on the number plate."
Phillip said once the papers had been removed from the numberplate it would be almost impossible to track down the vehicle.
