Pretoria - Political head of the Tshwane Metro Police and safety and security MMC, Terrence Mashego, found himself on the wrong end of a loaded gun and crowbar-wielding intruders inside his house early on Tuesday morning.
Fortunately, the senior city official was not struck by any of the two bullets that were fired.
The intruders hit him in the head and upper body with the crowbar and he is undergoing treatment at an undisclosed private hospital.
Mashego was asleep in his Mabopane home at about 2.30am when four men – two wielding guns and another a crowbar – broke the doors and entered the house.
The noise woke up the MMC, who jumped out of bed and went out in the passage to check what was going on, only to be confronted by the intruders.
Police spokesman Matthews Nkoadi said the man carrying the crowbar hit him on the head and upper body “a few times”.
Two shots were fired before the men ran away. Mashego was not hit by any of the bullets, Nkoadi said.
“Nothing was taken from the house, and a case of housebreaking has been opened. Blood was found in the passage where the attack took place,” Nkoadi said.
Neighbours reported hearing gunshots in the early hours of the morning, but were not aware of what had happened until word spread and people, including police, gathered at the Mashego house by dawn. There were lots of people, said a neighbour.
Four metro police officers were sitting in a car opposite the gate watching over the house when the Pretoria News went to the area at noon.
Several people gathered next to a section of the fence that was broken.
A man emerged from the house and issued an instruction that no family members were to be interviewed. He admitted the fence was damaged by the intruders.
At least two Mercedes-Benz sedans were parked near the gate, while a black Audi A4 arrived moments later with two occupants.
They cut sombre figures as they first looked at the fence and then filed into the house. Neighbours and passers-by looked in the direction of the house, with at least two indicating they heard what sounded like gunshots at night. Another did not know who Mashego was, but said he was aware “a government official” lived in the face-bricked house.
Tshwane mayoral spokesman Blessing Manale said no political motivation was suspected.
He said all city MMCs generally had security, but the service was not always available 24 hours a day.
In the event that security was unavailable overnight, Manale said, a thorough risk assessment was performed before the MMCs were left on their own.
ANC Tshwane regional spokes-man Tebogo Joala said the party condemned the act of criminality against the MMC. The ANC was urging people to come forward with information that could lead the capture and successful conviction of the perpetrators. Joala called on law enforcement agencies to act swiftly to bring the intruders to book.
DA leader in council Gert Pretorius said it was with shock and sadness that he learnt about the attack on Mashego.
Pretoria News