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Narrating her ordeal to Chronicle, near a Chicken Inn outlet opposite Tredgold Building where she operates from, the dealer (name withheld) said the alleged robber and his colleague pretended as if they were the usual “innocent” customers.
“The two approached one of my colleagues and said they wanted to change rand to dollars. My colleague did not have cash and they came to me,” said the woman.
“They said they had a lot of money and did not want to conduct the transaction in the open. We then hired a taxi and drove to the centre parking between Chicken Inn and Tredgold Building. I began counting the money and requested how much he wanted,” the woman said.
She then asked her “client” to give her his money so that they could complete the transaction.
“When I asked him to give me his money he produced a pistol and pointed it to my head. He told me to shut up before ordering that I surrender all the money to his friend and I obliged,” said the dealer.
“He continued holding the gun as his friend opened the door of the car and disappeared. He ordered me and my colleague to remain in the car and threatened, ‘I don’t want anyone to scream or I will shoot’. He said this and later on opened the door and left.”
The woman said at that time a group of people had gathered around the car after noticing that something was amiss.
“Realising that people had gathered around the car he raised the gun and everyone fell down in fear. We also got out of the car and started screaming as colleagues joined us. He started running and people gave chase,” said the dealer.
“Some colleagues got into their cars and followed the angry mob. Whenever he saw that people were about to catch him, he would point his gun at them and threaten to fire. He ran all over the place but people persisted until he was caught.”
The forex dealer, however, said she had not received her money back.
As she narrated the story her colleagues mobbed this reporter as they jostled to give their own version of the incident.
One of the dealers said the alleged robber was hit with a brick by one of the people, who were pursuing him when he tried to jump the perimeter fence at McKeurtan Primary School.
Asked if they had not been afraid of being shot, the dealers said they were brave and would not allow any robber to attack any one of them.
Others, however, said they now feared for their lives and urged the police to tighten security.
Acting Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Bekimpilo Ndlovu said the police had intensified investigations into the matter.
“We are treating this matter seriously and as such we have intensified our investigations,” he said without elaborating.
The alleged robber was apprehended near 3rd Avenue, after which he was thoroughly beaten by members of the public.
Police rescued him from the angry mob and took him to Bulawayo Central Police Station.
Online Reporter