SHYLOCK ROBBED OF E220 000

MBABANE - A woman of Corporation in the capital city, who reportedly conducts a money lending business, was on Saturday robbed of a sum of E220 000 by two armed men.

The two armed men are said to have broken into the woman’s house at 9:30pm where they tied her wrists together and ankles and covered her mouth with a duct tape. According to an impeccable source, they then locked her in her bedroom before proceeding to take the money which was inside the house. However,when they initially arrived, the robbers were said to have posed as police officers. Corporation is situated not too far from popular Msunduza Township. “E30 000 of the money was for her money lending business while she wanted to use the remaining amount to purchase a car,” said a source.

The source also suspected that the robbers had knowledge that the woman was keeping a substantial amount of money in her house. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the robbery. She said police were still investigating and so far no one had been arrested. There has been insinuations that with the festive season approaching, many such cases would be witnessed as people wanted to make a quick buck. In particular, it had been noted that during this time of the year, informal savings schemes, known as stokvels, become targets for such criminals.

Stokvel

Yesterday, this publication carried an article where it was reported that a businesswoman’s home was broken into by two thugs who stole stokvel money amounting to E218 000 and cellphones. The incident happened at Timbutini at around 10pm on Saturday. Timbutini is situated on the outskirts of Manzini. It is suspected that the money was stolen by people who knew the woman and her trade. The woman is in the business of wholesaling. It was gathered that the money, which belonged to members of a stokvel that the businesswoman was part of, was shared among members on a monthly basis. Each month, the members hold a meeting around the Manzini Police Headquarters to borrow and share dividends.  According to a relative, the businesswoman was in her house together with a helper who was in another room, when two men carrying a knife and a pickaxe, stormed inside the woman’s bedroom.

“It was raining and due to the noise from the splatters of the rain, she could not determine that the men were breaking the sliding door, as she assumed it was the noise from the wind,” said the relative. She further narrated that the men pointed the weapons at the businesswoman and demanded that she give them money. The relative added that the robbers noticed that there was someone else in the other room and soon went there and brought her to the businesswoman’s bedroom. It was mentioned that the businesswoman and her helper did not make mention of where the money was, and that was when they were covered with blankets as the armed robbers searched for the money.

Businesswoman

“The men said they did not want to do any harm to the businesswoman and the helper, but simply needed the money as they knew that it was there,” the relative said. She said the pair of armed robbers searched the room until they found the sum of money in a space behind the headboard.  The relative stated that the men made a call and were heard informing the receiver to meet them with a car. The robbers then quickly left the house and they were nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, according to the Royal Eswatini Police Service report, Mafutseni police were investigating an armed robbery case where a 52-year-old woman of Timbutini was attacked by two unknown men armed with a knife and a pickaxe, and robbed her of money amounting to E218 000 and cellphones valued at E7 000 while at her home at Timbutini.

The report stated that there had not been an arrest made yet and police were appealing to members of the public to help bring these suspects to book. Meanwhile, last Wednesday, E83 000 disappeared at OK Foods Logoba and its disappearance was discovered just before operations for the day came to an end. The money that went missing was said to be part of the daily sales.

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