27 Sep 2018

Two security officers working for Xstra Care Security are nursing injuries following a grueling assault they suffered at the hands of robbers in the early hours of Monday.

Xstra Care Security is engaged by the Southern District Council to provide security at Kanye Rural Administration Centre, which houses both local and central government departments.
Messrs Albert Tsuaneng, 60 and Edwin Tlammane, 38, who both hail from Lotlhakane East, met their fate minutes after midnight.

The irony of this episode perhaps was the fact that the duo had just completed routine foot patrol around the council yard as per the norm when disaster struck.

The visibly distraught Mr Tsuaneng said everything happened fast.

“We had hardly sat on our chairs to rest a little following routine check when out of the blue three men with faces covered with balaclavas forced their way into the guard room and started yelling instructions at us and demanding keys for Toyota Fortuner ‘family’ vehicles belonging to SDC,” he told BOPA in an interview.

The assailants, three in number, according to Tsuaneng, were mean and decreed that the two guards (Tsuaneng and Tlammane) lie prostrate on the ground whereupon they had both their hands and feet tied tightly together through the use of shoe laces.

The drama did not end there, he said the aggressors started to viciously beat the hapless duo to a pulp with a barrage of kicks and blows to subdue them before dragging them to a secluded dark place within the compound where the fourth assailant, who was draped in dark clothes and carrying what looked like a firearm, senselessly continued the onslaught on the two.

Sensing grave danger coming their way, the helpless duo gave in and disclosed to the robbers where the keys for the offices and vehicles were kept; to which three of the robbers reacted swiftly to collect with the objective of unlocking one of the vehicles to drive away with.

Meanwhile, the duo had newspapers stuffed into their mouth and cello-tape used as reinforcement to drown their voices from any persons who might be walking by at that time of the night.

Exhausted and reeling in excruciating pain from an ordeal that lasted a full hour, the two guards helplessly heard the roar of one of the engines and knew instantly they have lost the duel.

The fourth heartless aggressor, who all along had been keeping an eye on the pair while the other three were desperately running helter-skelter trying on various keys to unlock one of the vehicles, finally left them lying there and proceeded to join fellow partners in crime and made away with a Toyota Land Cruiser belonging to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) office in Kanye.

It was only then that the twosome moved with speed to untie each other, and mustered enough courage to report the matter to Kanye police.

The duo has since been granted sick off to enable them to take both medication and rest in the comfort of their homes.

Kanye police station commander, Superintendent Mmoloki Mogale confirmed the occurrence.

He said the gruesome incident was the second to happen this year following another one where robbers subdued guards before whisking away with a  Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle belonging to the

Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food Security in Kanye, and the vehicle has still not been recovered.

Police investigations on the matter are ongoing. ENDS