Alex Matlala
Alex Matlala
Priests and family members are praying for a miracle to save the life of a security vehicle driver who was shot while he and a colleague were transporting money to Louis Trichardt, Limpopo, on Monday.
The 40-year-old guard was shot several times in the stomach and his colleague was shot in the buttocks.
The security guards were ambushed by a group of armed men while on their way to deliver money in Louis Trichardt.
The armed men, who opened fire on the security vehicle as it drove past, had apparently been waiting in ambush at the side of the road.
The security vehicle apparently overturned and the assistant driver was shot in the buttocks while trying to run away.
The driver was shot several times as he struggled to get out of the overturned vehicle.
A passing motorist informed the police, who rushed to the scene where they found the injured men.
The guard with the stomach wounds was rushed to a local hospital and later transferred to another hospital in Polokwane because of the severity of his injuries.
His colleague was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released later that day.
In a follow-up operation, police arrested four of the seven suspects a few kilometres from the scene of the robbery.
An undisclosed amount of money was recovered.
Louis Trichardt police spokesman Captain Maano Sadike identified the suspects as Thomas Lekavha, 40, Thomas Thovhakale, 49, Thulane Nkosi, 30, and Gursen Maphari, 30.
They appeared briefly in the Zoutpansberg magistrate's court on Tuesday, and again yesterday for bail applications, which were denied.
They will now face charges of aggravated armed robbery on October 31.
lPolice in Mokopane arrested three suspects who tried to rob a family at gunpoint on Wednesday night.
They will appear today in the Mokopane magistrate's court on charges of armed robbery.