Defunct payTV channel Kwese had its expensive equipment stolen during a daring armed robbery that involved 13 thugs.

One of the robbers, according to police records, disguised himself as a security guard during the Sunday night raid on the company's Randburg, Joburg studios.

It was not clear if the robbery was linked to the recent announcement that Kwese TV, owned by Zimbabwean telecoms billionaire Strive Masiyiwa, was shutting down.

The stolen items included cameras, computers and TV sets worth over R300,000.

Sunday World visited the company's offices on Friday and spoke to a security officer who was guarding the empty premises.

The guard, who did not want to be named, confirmed that tsotsis made off with most of the equipment that was in the building.

In his police statement, one of the guards who were on duty when the robbery took place, said he and his colleague were tied and locked up in the bathroom by the thugs.

He said he was in the guardroom when two men armed with guns pounced on him, and was told to open the gate.

He tried to escape, he added, but was grabbed by another group of men who were already inside the premises.

"They tied him with shoelaces and took him to the bathroom. After a few minutes, they brought in his colleague and also tied his hands with
charger cables.

"After every hour the victim was taken by the suspects to update the OB [occurrence book that security guards use to record activities during their shift].

"It was then that he noticed there were 13 suspects loading items into a white NP200 bakkie without a canopy, a white Toyota Fortuner and a white Toyota Quantum ... no registration numbers were seen. One of the suspects was wearing a security uniform which was found in the guardroom," read the statement.

The robbers also made away with the guard's cellphones.

The spokesperson for the police, Makgowanyana Maja, confirmed that a case of business robbery was opened but said no one has been arrested.