Mbabane: Thieves break into 3 shops in one night
MBABANE – Cases of robbery and burglary into shops are on the rise in Mbabane Central Business District (CBD) as three shops got robbed in one night.
The three shops robbed on Friday night add on three other shops that were broken into in the past weeks. Police have not yet made any arrests, but in most of the shopping areas, the thugs were captured on CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras. One of the shops robbed within the last 24 hours include Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Drive-thru in Mbabane. Sources close to the matter confirmed that the burglars broke into the fast food outlet through the pay point of the drive-thru.
A burglar-proof window was smashed until it broke at the pay point and opened the sliding window. The burglars slid through the window to gain access into the shop, where they ransack the offices. The sources revealed that they suspect the thieves were looking for keys to the money-safe but could not find them. Security officers from the nearby shopping outlets suspected that there was an ongoing robbery and raised the alarm which tipped the thieves and they escaped through the same window.
When quizzed on whether KFC had a security guard on the night or not, the sources said there was none that was around on the said night. The Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) responded to the alarm raised by the nearby security personnel, but unfortunately the thieves had left the crime scene.
Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati confirmed the robbery but did not give details of how it happened. She said the police were still investigating and information on the suspects would soon be made public. However, she confirmed that the thieves were not able to get cash but stole a tablet which was visible.
Our sources revealed that even though the keys were inside the shop, the thieves could not find them and as the manager had hidden them in the office.
“It remains a mystery how they could not find the keys because had they found them, they would have made out with the night’s collections,” said the source.
Staff found at the shop refused to speak, citing the confidentially clause and the management of the outlet requested not to comment. It was, however, discovered that KFC do not keep any cash at the shop after closing their day services but the police transport it to a safe place.
It was not established whether there was more than one thief but the scene of crime gave a reflection that only one entered the shop through the window. CCTV footage at KFC was examined and sources revealed that the suspect who entered was familiar to the police and was suspected to have been involved in the robberies in other shops in the CBD.
“Police checked the CCTV footage and the police recognised the boy from other footages taken from different shops robbed at night in Mbabane. I don’t think he will be on the run for long and the police will soon catch him,” said the source.
The thieves were also suspected to have broken into Swazi Textbooks and Stationery and its sister shop at the CBD. Both shops were broken into on the same night and the same technique was used to enter into one shop before moving on to the next one.
Police confirmed that the thieves were only able to take E50 from both shops as they failed to break into money safes. Sources found at the scene revealed that the thieves missed an opportunity of taking an undisclosed amount of money which was kept in a money bag. “The thieves seemed to be in hurry and they failed to notice a lot of valuable things they could have taken. I want to believe that God protected our valuables and we are praying that the police apprehend them as a matter of urgency,” said the source. Police requested anyone who might have information regarding to the matter to contact the nearest police station.