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Nqobile Tshili and Nomusa Mdukuzi Chronicle Reporters
FIVE armed robbers pounced on Nkulumane Sekusile Choppies Supermarket in Bulawayo and emptied the tills at gunpoint before getting away with $1,200 on Sunday night.Witnesses said the gang raided the retail shop between 7.30PM and 8PM.
“Three men entered the shop and fired two warning shots at the ceiling and ordered everyone to lie down,” said one of the workers at the shop.
The workers said while the three entered the shop, two stood guard outside. Said another staffer: “I was busy working when I suddenly heard the sound of gunshots. Three men entered and ordered everybody in the shop to lie down and we complied.”
A security guard, who preferred anonymity because he was not cleared to talk to the media, said when the robbers entered the shop, they ordered till operators to open all the tills and give them all the money.
“While the other two were still looting from the tills, the third one ordered the shop manager to show him where the safe was kept,” he told Chronicle.
“The safe was on the first floor and the robber had no time to go there as his friends quickly called him. Those outside the shop started calling their friends to get out quickly, fearing police were on their way.”
Witnesses said the robbers hijacked a kombi which was parked outside the shop and sped off. No one was hurt during the incident.
Choppies managing director, Raji Modi, confirmed the incident saying the robbers took away $1,291. The same shop was raided at gunpoint last year.
In a related incident recently, three armed robbers raided Trek Garage in Mpopoma suburb where they fired warning shots and went away with $3,500.
The garage supervisor, Shingi Nyamaropa, narrated the incident to Chronicle yesterday.
“It was around 10PM on December 28 when a certain customer approached the attendants and asked for water. He parked his car about 500 metres away and suddenly three men appeared,” said Nyamaropa.
“They fired warning shots in the air and demanded all the cash we had. Fearing for their lives, the attendants handed them $3,500.”
Nyamaropa said the matter was reported to the police.
Some workers alleged that management has been “terrorising” them over the issue, accusing them of conniving with the robbers.
It has emerged that those who were on the shift have been arrested in connection with the robbery.
“These people reported the workers who were on duty to the police yet they had no option but to give away the cash since the robbers were armed,” said one of the workers.
“They gave away the money in fear of death. It’s so bad that they are being tortured and harassed when they might not know anything.”
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo confirmed the two incidents.
“I confirm that there was a robbery at Choppies Supermarket. We have not established much detail as the matter is still in its preliminary stages,” said Insp Moyo. “I also confirm that we received a report of an armed robbery that took place at Trek Garage in Mpopoma.”
Recently armed robbers raided four shops in Nkulumane 11 and two Choppies supermarkets, one of them located in the city centre.
Insp Moyo urged members of the public to assist the police with information. He also urged businesses to avoid keeping a lot of cash and advised them to bank it.
Online Reporter