Byline: Thendo Fonyofonyo
Friday, 24 February 2023
Evander Magistrate Court continued with the trial on Wednesday, 15 February 2023 of six (6) men alleged in the robbery at Leslie Pick n Pay and possession of unlicensed firearm.
It is alleged that the 6 men robbed the shop of an amount that was worth R250 000 (two hundred and fifty thousand rand) that was meant for SASSA grant on the day of the incident.
It is alleged that during the robbery, one of the accused was working at the shop as supervisor in the butchery whereas the other five were from eMbalenhle.
It is further alleged that during the robbery the five (5) accused used an inside man who was working at the butchery to open the back door for them and allegedly pretend as if he was scared of the men who were coming to rob the shop as he had knowledge of what would happen during that time.
“Accused number six (6) who was the supervisor of the butchery at the shop when reporting for duty on the morning of the incident, ran to me screaming that there were people outside who were coming to rob the shop and at that time I did not have any clue what he was talking about,” said the shop manager who was the state witness during trial.
She further stated that after some few minutes, those men entered the shop with firearms and started to instruct her to show them where they put the SASSA grand money.
“The robbery took approximately 15 to 20 minutes and they took all the SASSA grand money”, she added.
Therefore, the case was postponed for more witnesses to give their statement before the court.
However, five (5) accused remain in custody while the other one, who is the butchery supervisor, is currently attending the case whilst out on bail.
