CONCERNING: Thugs have been active robbing Braamfontein locals and, in one attack, tying them up in the cemetery. Photo: Ilanit Chernick.
Wits Campus Control have warned students of an escalation in criminal activity in the area following the robbery of a man who was left tied to a grave in Braamfontein cemetery recently.
A tweet from the Campus Control account sent out on July 24 warned students that on “Enoch Sontonga [there are] thugs becoming violent”.
Security and liaison manager at Campus Control, Lucky Khumela, said the tweet followed the armed robbery of an unidentified man on July 23.
“A man was approached by three armed men. They robbed him of his valuables and then tied him up with wires to a grave in the Braamfontein cemetery,” Khumela said.
The man was left tied to the grave during the night wearing only a t-shirt and boxers. He managed to untie himself and alerted Campus Control of the attack. Campus Control then informed the South African Police Services (SAPS).
Khumela said police have promised to increase patrols in the area.
The area around the bridge outside the cemetery, across the road from Wits, has become a known crime hot-spot for thugs and students have been warned to be cautious there even during the day.
“There are guards from 6am to 6pm, but students must still be careful,” said Khumela
Campus Control also stressed on Twitter that students must not walk alone or with valuables in “isolated areas” after hours because “robberies outside campus is a real concern”.
Two female Wits students were also the victims of two separate smash and grab incidents outside the Wits Art Museum over this past week.
On Friday afternoon a student was driving along Jorissen street when a man approached her car window, smashed it and grabbed her bag.
The second robbery took place on Monday afternoon, also on Jorissen street, when another female student was waiting in traffic. A man smashed her window and grabbed her cellphone before running off into the busy street.
Campus Control posts security guards on Jorrisen street. However, Khumela said the smash and grab thieves were “opportunists” who waited until the guards were patrolling further down the street before striking. Khumela said they were investigating the recent incidents.
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