Lucky Lekgwathi appeals for help after armed robbery at restaurant

Former Bafana Bafana player and Orlando Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi has appealed for help from the public after an armed robbery on Tuesday at his Grootman restaurant in Southdale, near Booysens, Johannesburg.

Four armed criminals held up and attacked staff, taking their valuables and cash from the venue, Lekgwathi said.

It is not the first time Lekgwathi has suffered at the hands of thugs. In July last year he was a victim of the unrest that swept KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng when his original Grootman restaurant in Kliptown, Soweto, was vandalised and burnt down. He moved the business to Southdale, hoping it would be safer.

According to the former hard-tackling defender, three men and a woman entered the shop at about 7pm and acted as if they were ordering food. They then pulled out guns, forced workers to lie on the ground and beat some of them.

One was pistol-whipped and admitted to hospital. They then ransacked the restaurant and took cash, cellphones and other valuables..

“I was at home and had to rush to the shop. Then I called the police. I was scared because these thugs beat the workers up and I do not understand why they would do such a thing. My main concern was the safety of the workers,” Lekgwathi said, adding that he has opened a case at Booysens SAPS.

“I have put up videos and pictures of them on social media, and I am confident they will be arrested. We must all work together to stop crime.

“I want to appeal to the community to help us to identify these people. If people can recognise them, please go to Booysens police station or come to our shop.”

Lekgwathi played more than 300 matches for the Buccaneers and was part of the squad that won back-to-back trebles in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.