Congregants at a Constantia church were left traumatised after three armed robbers conned their way inside.
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One of the assailants pretended to be sick to gain access to The People’s Church – Assembly of God in Constantia on Friday at around 6pm.
Minister Geoff Bond told IOL that the suspects were armed with guns and a knife, while there were six people in the church for the youth programme.
He claimed they held them up and instructed them to lie on the ground before tying the four men up with mobile chargers and bag straps. They told them not to look at them, then put on gloves to take their phones and cash.
According to Bond, the suspects were unable to lock them in the room, so they herded them into the bathroom and instructed them to remain there. The victims were unsure when the suspects left because they went to check after a while and found the assailants gone.
He said the suspects stole a congregant’s car, a VW Polo GTi.
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‘The victim is from Namibia and he begged them not to take his passport with them. When they were freed they found his passport inside the church. They came back and dropped it off. I believe that one of the suspects kept apologising for doing this to the church. There was a lot that they could have taken but their focus was on the car,’ said Bond, adding that churches had become soft targets.
‘Our role is to be kind to people in need, which places us in a difficult situation, but we also have to be sensible and take precautions.’
‘We have security measures in place but someone was conned. The gate was left open because someone was coming. We usually keep the gates closed but on Friday evenings, with people coming and going preparing for the youth programme, the traffic gate happens to be open.’
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‘The suspect then rang the bell at the security gate because he couldn’t get in, he said he was sick and asked if he could use the toilet. They opened for him and let him in out of kindness. He then let two others (in).’
The minister stated that the victims were offered two-hour counselling sessions.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie stated that the Diep River SAPS had opened a business robbery case for further investigation.
He asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111.
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Picture: Emmanuel Appiah / Unsplash