Ex-employee stabs Nedbank guard

A SECURITY guard at Nedbank’s head offices in Sandton was stabbed and then rushed to hospital with part of a broken-off knife lodged in his body after a disgruntled ex-employee returned to “confront” an executive.

The floor at the reception area of the bank’s offices in Rivonia Road was covered in blood after the incident that left employees and clients stunned yesterday morning. The blood was swiftly cleaned up while paramedics were stabilising the injured guard.

Employees told The Star that the former employee had walked through the door into the reception area that was under construction and demanded to speak to someone from the human resources office.

However, when that person refused to see him, the man pulled out a knife and stabbed the guard who was escorting him out of the building.

“He did not look like someone who was about to cause problems. He was casual. He caught us all by surprise when he pulled out a weapon. There was blood everywhere and management tried to deal with the situation by mopping up the blood quickly as it was embarrassing and shocking to clients. We are all still shocked,” said an employee.

The guard was stabbed once near the hip area, which apparently resulted in the handle of the knife snapping off. The blade was still lodged in his body when the paramedics were stabilising him before he was taken to hospital.

When The Star visited the bank in the afternoon, work had resumed and the reception area was spotless. Employees could be heard whispering about the bloody episode but few were willing to be interviewed.

Nedbank group spokesperson Sharda Naidoo released a statement which confirmed the incident. She also confirmed that the alleged attacker was a former employee who was dismissed three years ago after being found guilty of a “criminal offence” and who spent two years in prison.

“He asked to see one of the executives in our retail business. We politely asked him to leave the premises, and when he refused, group security was alerted and attempted to escort him out. While he was being escorted out, he turned around and stabbed one of our security staff. The injured staff member has been stabilised and taken to hospital. The former employee was arrested by police. We have arranged counselling for traumatised staff who witnessed the incident,” the statement said.

He pulled out a knife, stabbed security guard

However, an internal memorandum sent to certain employees yesterday had more details about the profile and personal conduct of the alleged attacker.

According to it, the man worked at in retail and business banking (RBB) and was dismissed for pointing a firearm inside one of the bank’s Cape Town branches before he was fired and spent time in jail.

“At around 11am he arrived at the reception area and asked for one of our executives in RBB. Someone, who had had engagements with this former employee, contacted security. Group security services personnel met with the former employee and asked him to leave. He insisted on seeing the RBB executive and would not leave.

“When one of our staff members tried to escort him out of the building, he turned around and stabbed him. I kindly ask that if you have pictures of the incident, you do not distribute them,” read the memorandum signed by chief financial officer Raisibe Morathi and chief risk officer Trevor Adams.