Robbers kill
2005-11-17
THE sight of his colleague, lying bleeding to death on the forecourt of a Paarl garage, will stay with petrol attendant Booysen Nontyi forever.
Booysen and Sicelo Busakwe were on duty at Paarl Motors in Jan van Riebeeck Drive when two security guards from the tyre firm opposite the road joined them at 02:00 on Saturday morning.
Busakwe (Shorty as he was fondly known) was in the attendant’s office when five men walked up to the petrol pumps.
“They acted as if they were drunk,” Nontyi remembers.
“But they were not drunk. As soon as they reached us, they pointed their firearms and a knife and pushed the three of us into the office with Shorty.
“They demanded money and took the R5000. The one with the knife asked who Shorty was, and then he stabbed him in the heart.”
Nontyi saw Shorty fall to the floor but could not help his colleague as one of the gunmen swung his firearm to their heads and demanded more money.
“They left Shorty there and locked us in the men’s toilet.”
Nontyi hoisted a security guard onto his shoulders so that the man could smash the toilet window for them to climb out.
“I ran to the telephone and called the police and the ambulance.
Shorty looked as if he was sleeping when he was taken to hospital.
“The police later told us that he had died just after six-o’clock.”
Nontyi was still on duty at 07:10 when a taxi from Mbekweni stopped for fuel.
“He told me his passengers wanted a lift to Cape Town. While I was checking the oil, I looked into the taxi and recognised the four faces.
They were the ones who had attacked us.
“I told the taxi driver to check his own tyres and I quickly went inside to press the panic button.”
Police patrolling in the area responded immediately and arrived at the garage within two minutes.
The four suspects, all from Khayelitsha, were arrested.
“The one from OR-settlement is still missing. I am very scared because they know I saw their faces. I can’t work the way I used to,” Nontyi said.
Busakwe (34) leaves his wife Albertina, five-year-old son and a mother. He will be buried in the Eastern Cape.
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