On the evening of 2 June, Sandton Chronicle reporter Andrei van Wyk was robbed at knifepoint on the corner of Juta and Bertha streets in Braamfontein next to the Nelson Mandela Bridge.
Van Wyk said he was walking down Juta Street with his girlfriend at about 7pm when they were accosted by three men armed with knives. “We didn’t actually see it coming at the time. As we walked, three men with knives started grabbing at our pockets and bags, demanding cellphones and wallets,” he said.
He added that two of the men pushed him against a wall holding their knives to his neck while another threatened his girlfriend with a knife, taking her handbag. “We realized that there was nothing else to do but offer our belongings,” said Van Wyk.
“My girlfriend asked them to give her handbag back but take her phone. So they sliced the handle of the bag and we gave them our cellphones before they ran off. We were not injured in the end.” The two victims made their way to the nearest police station to report the incident.
“It was a hectic situation that could’ve gone either way. But we didn’t get hurt and they only made off with our cellphones, so it’s just the process of gathering our thoughts and making sense of the incident,” concluded Van Wyk.
Warrant Officer Richard Munyai of Jeppestown Police Station confirmed that there had been cases of armed muggings near the Nelson Mandela Bridge. He added that many of the victims were students from nearby learning institutions and the police were investigating the cases which have been reported to them.
Munyai said, “We recommend that people walking in that area should walk in groups as the [perpetrators] tend to target people walking alone.”
Read more:
Student cop busts alleged serial rapist
