Times Of Swaziland: SOLDIER TURNS TABLES ON ARMED ROBBERS

SOLDIER TURNS TABLES ON ARMED ROBBERS
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Sibusiso Shange on 10/10/2023 09:22:00


NKOYOYO -– A soldier who was held hostage together with customers at an Asian
shop reportedly stabbed three of four men alleged to be part of a syndicate
which robs shops around the country.
According to video footage, the robbers entered the shop situated at Nkoyoyo
armed with a gun at around 2pm this past Sunday. Upon entry, it is said that one
man drew a gun and pushed all the customers towards the shelves, forcing them to
surrender their money and cellphones, little did they know that they were being
captured by closed circuit television camera (CCTV). The video footage retrieved
from the CCTV camera showed the men entering the shop as a group and one
proceeded to the other side of the counter and demanded money and cellphones
from the shop assistant. He was seen taking money from the cash register. At the
time, his other colleagues forced the customers to surrender their money and
gadgets.
Gun
The man on the other side of the counter was seen receiving a gun from one of
his colleagues. He then cocked the gun before assaulting the shop assistant,
while forcing him to show him all the money. The shop assistant was seen showing
the gunman where the money was. The gunman who had already taken some money and
the gadgets left the counter and joined his colleagues who were still busy
robbing the other customers. At that time, the soldier who was identified as
Coolio Dacosta based at Nsingizini Army Barrack had surrendered his bag with his
bank cards, personal identity cards, cellphones and money to the robbers. Noted
was that Dacosta was watching every step taken by the robbers.
He then unexpectedly pulled out a knife from his pocket and stabbed three of the
robbers, starting with the one carrying the gun. Dacosta managed to grab the gun
as the quartet competed for the entrance, in an effort to flee. During a visit
to the shop, the situation was calm, though the employees were still
traumatised.  The businessman who was with his countrymen confirmed the attack.
However, he declined to comment further, stating that he was still waiting for
the police. Dacosta who was injured and bleeding in the arm shared that he was
at the shop to buy some stuff with his girlfriend when he was held hostage by
the robbers. He stated that they robbed him of his bag, three cellphones, and
one which he recently purchased for his girlfriend.
Dacosta said, allowing the men to do as they pleased would have meant he was not
fit for his job after a hard training at Mbuluzi. “It would mean I am not a
trained soldier. I cannot undergo hard training and allow robbers to do as they
please. My intention was to deal with them after I had grabbed the gun. However,
I discovered that it was a pellet gun when I cocked it. They will live to tell a
tale for the rest of their lives,” he said. The soldier stated that the
robbers were so confused that one even tried to hit him with a cardboard. It was
gathered that the quartet drove a grey VW Polo, which was parked along the
Mbabane -Ngwenya Freeway at Nkoyoyo adjacent to the shop. Police arrived shortly
after and left with the soldier. Residents of the area shared that the quartet
was allegedly the same that went around robbing shops in the country.
Businesspeople operating shops at Nkoyoyo shared that the men met the
description of the quartet that had been to their shops recently. It was
gathered that one of the four men had been to the shop earlier on the day. Chief
Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati
confirmed the incident. Vilakati said investigations were ongoing.