Lurnay Tshabalala-Mavuso | Editor-In-Chief | NEWS | 19 JUNE 2024
ATM BOMBINGS have become more popular and common particularly in Tsakane and other surrounding areas in around Ekurhuleni. Today early in the AMs, the Shell Garage in Geluksdal road was attacked by unidentifiable and un-numbered robbers. This has been an on-going conversation later in the day on social media and around the community of Tsakane. Residents have been shaken by the gunshots they have heard and they have a lot to say and luckily for us as Tsakane Informer we've got a reliable source who shared their experience on the incident that happened.
Here's what they had to say, "It was in the early hours of 02:38, I was turning at the robots next to the garage, as I was working a night-shift doing emergency deliveries, I did not see the robbers though the guy who was firing shots at my car was just next to the robots, I guess he was scouting and when he say my car I assume he thought it was a police vehicle since it was a bakkie. I didn't know there was a crime happening, I thought I was being hijacked, since I was driving a high risk vehicle. The guy opened fire at me immediately after I turned at the robots"
Hearing all of this was so emotionally saddening as I can only imagine how much trauma they have been in. At the scene of the crime were forensic experts who were there to gather any evidence to try use for the police investigation. Though residents are not hopeful that the robbers will be found and this is all due to the thought that, maybe the police officers were also involved in this since the crime took place in a place which is not too far from the police station. A concerned resident asks, what took them so long?
"Since I got shot at I was traumatized, trying to escape the hail of bullets and around the corner towards the hospital I almost crashed into a police vehicle that was coming from the same direction as mine and I stopped there for sometime, I'm guessing the police heard the shots hence they also made a stop and at some point I thought of going to report the incident to them but I came to senses knowing the country we live in, you will think that you are reporting to the police not knowing that you are reporting to the same criminals because that police vehicle I almost crashed into had no blue lights on."
Looking at the crime statistics reading, according to SABRIC (South African Bank Risk Information Centre), the number of ATM attacks or bombings have continued to rise in trend at 116 in 2021 and 228 in 2022, and these are the statistics of the ATM bombings or attack in Gauteng alone and looking at other provinces, Gauteng is the highest province that has ATM attacks than any other provinces in South Africa. This according to the SABRIC means that Gauteng is a high risk province for ATM attacks. The SABRIC are working with the SAPS (South African Police Services) to curb the rise in ATM bombings in not just Gauteng but in the country at large, because the Banking sector and banking clients are being affected by the ATM bombings.
"The level of crime in our country is scary, but since we voted I am expecting to see some changes since also the Minister of Police has resigned. The change I would like to see is more visibility of police vehicles especially in high ways and around petrol station. I believe that alone will minimize crime rates and I would like to advise our officers to stop taking bribes because we cannot even trust them. We live in a country where you need money to be protected, so it is always the disadvantaged or less privileged who have to suffer."
As Tsakane Informer we are very glad and pleased for the safety of our source and for their life because if they hadn't survived we would be telling a different story right now.