'Mercedes looter' bust on video leaving Woolworths with groceries despite claiming he didn't go inside

People looting a shop in Durban flee from a police officer on July 12 2021 as riots continue in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
People looting a shop in Durban flee from a police officer on July 12 2021 as riots continue in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Image: SANDILE NDLOVU

On Tuesday, Mbuso Moloi, the Mercedes-Benz driver caught on video seemingly looting a Durban Woolworths, claimed he never stepped foot in the store — but new video footage suggests otherwise.

In the video, shared online by the DA's leader in eThekwini, Nicole Graham, on Wednesday, Moloi, 26, is seen walking out of the Woolworths store with a basket, which he then loads into a Merc.

On Tuesday, Moloi told TimesLIVE that he was not looting and that the incident had been taken out of context.

He could not be reached on Wednesday, as his phone was off and he did not respond to text messages seeking comment.

The first video shows him picking up a shopping basket and putting it inside his car.

“I picked up things that were outside, not inside. I did not step inside Woolworths,” Moloi told TimesLIVE on Tuesday.

He claimed to have threatened for “something completely taken out of context”.

“The act of yesterday, of picking up a basket that was outside Woolworths and raking up a few items on the floor outside the actual establishment, is now taken out of context and is now stipulated as a black man in a Mercedes-Benz looting.

“People are proclaiming that I was looting, did anyone see me go into Woolworths? I never even walked into Woolworths, the basket that I had in my hand was from outside the shop. I did not go into Woolworths. I am not going to understand anyone that is going to proclaim and say that I am looting,” Moloi said earlier.

He also claimed to have gone out with his sister to buy her sanitary towels and other essentials.

TimesLIVE

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.