Durban - A Pheonix pastor who was held up at gunpoint during a robbery at a petrol station in KwaMashu on Wednesday has told how he hid his nieces from the gunmen.
Reverend Thandwayinkosi Dennis Zungu, 59, of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Grove End, said he pushed his two young nieces with him under a shelf at the station shop for protection after a shot was fired in their direction.
Relating their ordeal to the Daily News on Wednesday, he said he had fetched his nieces, aged 3 and 5, from their home in KwaMashu and stopped at the Shell Service Station in Malandela Road to buy snacks when the drama unfolded.
“I selected the items we needed and together with the girls I walked to the till to pay. I received my change and put it in the wallet.
“While walking to the door the customer behind me hissed at me loudly and demanded I give him my wallet. I ignored him and continued walking.”
Zungu was unaware that robbers were posing as customers.
A second man blocked him at the door and pulled out a gun from under his shirt.
“I froze and panicked knowing that I had the kids next to me. He said the guy behind me was calling me.
“When I looked back the man cocked his firearm and pointed it at me. He swore at me and grabbed the wallet out of my pocket. He also took my ID book from the front pocket. I could not negotiate,” Zungu said.
The men demanded he hand over the car keys and his cellphone but both had been left inside the car with a relative.
The robbers then searched him.
Zungu said although the store had a protective glass enclosure he saw one of the robbers try to get into the cashiers’ area via a side door.
A gunshot went off “like a cracker”, Zungu said.
It sent a chill down his spine.
“The shot went off into the air right beside the girls and me. There was no way out so I grabbed the girls and ran to the back of the shop. I crawled on the floor and pushed the girls under a shelf and told them not to worry,” he said.
“If they kill me it was okay but not the girls. I also found the guard lying face down behind some boxes.”
His wallet contained R650, bank cards and his driving licence.
Police spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, said the cashier was inside the shop behind the glass counter when two armed suspects approached her.
“The robbers grabbed the customer who was inside the shop and robbed him of his cash.
“The robbers took sweets, chips and Red Bulls from the garage before fleeing the scene. Two shots were fired but no one was injured.”
After several agonising moments lying on the floor on his stomach Zungu said he heard voices in the shop.
He looked up to see the robbers were gone.
“I ran to the car and just drove off. The children were in shock and crying,” he said.
Said Zungu: “I never experience a robbery in my 27 years as a pastor. I was a victim of a burglary previously.”
He was a pastor in Mahlabatini, Nongoma, Nqutu, Ladysmith and Port Shepstone before joining the Phoenix parish.
Police are investigating a case of business robbery and attempted murder and have yet to make any arrests.
Goods valued at thousands of rand were taken from nine petrol station shops in greater Durban over a 12-day period last month.
The chairman of the Regional Advisory Council for Engen Petroleum Dealers, Richard Critchlow, said he was especially concerned about the safety of the staff and customers during these robberies.
He also expressed disappointment at the apparent lack of police action.
According to the latest crime statistics, businesses are easy targets.
In KZN business robberies last year totalled 2 707, a 15 percent increase, according to the latest police statistics.
Daily News