A manhunt has begun for four heavily armed men who robbed the Grahamstown Post Office, making off with an undisclosed amount of money. They managed to disarm the Post Office security guard before ordering everyone to lie down.
A manhunt has begun for four heavily armed men who robbed the Grahamstown Post Office, making off with an undisclosed amount of money. They managed to disarm the Post Office security guard before ordering everyone to lie down.
Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said police received a call at 11.30am on Wednesday 18 June and responded immediately. “No shots were fired and no one got injured. According to eye witnesses, the suspects fled in a white Ford Bantam. No one managed to get the license registration number."
Govender urged Grahamstown citizens to help in apprehending the four men.
Shocked workers from the Community Work Programme (CWP) who were queuing for their monthly wages at the Post Office left empty-handed. “I was relying on the money to hire transport to take me back to the farm,” said Phumeza Zono from Mike Palmer’s farm off Cradock road. Speaking to Grocott's Mail at the scene, a shocked and disappointed Zono said she was planning to use the money for her children’s school fees and buy groceries”.
Scores of workers stood helplessly in front of the post office as police and security officers interviewed eyewitnesses for clues. Some of the terrified workers who witnessed the incident refused to speak to Grocott's Mail, fearing for their safety, still shaken from the trauma.
The Siphiwo Mazwayi Post Office in Joza was robbed in a similar fashion by four men on 15 October last year. The robbers also made off with an undisclosed amount of cash meant to pay workers from the same programme. The case was later handed over to the Port Elizabeth Organised Crime Unit.
Govender said it was still difficult to tell whether the four men are the same gang that robbed the Jozs post office. “We are still in the primary stages of our investigation," she said.
Read more in the print edition of Grocott's Mail on Friday 20 June 2014.
