Gauteng police were commended after a quick intervention led to the recovery of a Gauteng health department’s vehicle, a Volkswagen Polo, that was hijacked at gunpoint in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria.
On Wednesday, the province’s ward-based primary healthcare outreach team from the Stanza Bopape Community Health Centre was conducting household visits in Mamelodi, when the heathcare officials was accosted and robbed by gunmen, according to Gauteng health spokesperson, Motalatale Modiba.
“The ward-based primary healthcare outreach team’s car was taken at gun point. The ward-based primary healthcare outreach team from the Stanza Bopape Community Health Centre was busy conducting their normal household visits at Section 14 in Mamelodi around 10.30am when they were approached by two perpetrators who hijacked their State vehicle and robbed them of their belongings which included cell phones and cash,” said Modiba.
“The South African Police Service managed to recover the white Volkswagen Polo sedan which had already been fitted with fake number plates at Extension 11 in Mamelodi, later in the day.”
The provincial health department has since opened a case of robbery and theft at the Mamelodi East police station.
Modiba said counselling has been arranged for the affected staff members.
“This attack happens at the time when the department is strengthening its outreach programme to townships, informal settlements and hostels communities, which is meant to improve access to health services to previously disadvantaged areas,” he said.
“To push back on attacks on healthcare workers requires a collective effort where communities work closely with law enforcement agencies given that the attacks are taking place in the very communities where we are trying to expand services to.”
The provincial health department has “strongly” condemned the repeated attacks on its staff and called on communities to take a stand against such crimes “as this has a dire impact on sustaining health services in communities”.
Last year, IOL reported that a Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (EMS) crew was hijacked, kidnapped, assaulted and robbed of their personal cellphones and other working tools while responding to what appeared to be a distress call from Nellmapius, near Mamelodi.
The EMS crew went to the area after an emergency call was registered, purporting that a 48-year-old man had collapsed.
“An ambulance was dispatched to the area from the Mamelodi base and on arrival in the vicinity of the address, two men waved to stop the crew and when the emergency responders stopped to engage them, the men pulled out firearms and forced them to drive to an unknown location,” Modiba said at the time.
IOL