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- Two City of Cape Town employees have been robbed at gunpoint in Philippi East.
- The sewer depot staff members were robbed of their wallets and cellphones, and their vehicle was hijacked.
- This is the second attack on the employees in only a few months.
Two City of Cape Town staff members were held at gunpoint, hijacked and robbed while working in Philippi East on Sunday – months after a similar experience in the same area.
The staff members work for the City's sewer depot, according to mayco member for water and waste, Zahid Badroodien.
"A Nissan double cab bakkie [registration number] CY383 306 was stolen, along with all their belongings, including cellphones, wallets and anything valuable they had with them. Our staff are extremely traumatised and had to call the senior superintendent to pick them up to take them to the Philippi police station," Badroodien said.
The same team was held up by six armed men a few months ago in the same area, Badroodien added.
There have been several incidents in which City employees have been targeted by criminals over the last year.
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In April, a supervisor was shot by a group of teenagers who robbed him and his crew while they were fixing a sewer pipe in Samora Machel. The bullet narrowly missed his spine and he required emergency surgery. The teenagers stole the crew's wallets and cellphones.
In June, a parks and recreation employee was left stranded when his vehicle was hijacked and set alight in Delft. The driver, from the department's standby team, was on his way to fetch colleagues when he was hijacked at gunpoint by two men.
In August, three City health workers were hijacked while driving a City-owned Toyota Avanza in Khayelitsha. They were forced to drive to the next suburb, Nyanga, after which they were released.
Badroodien said:
"I call upon all community members to stand up and report these criminals who prevent services from being rendered. Don't be silent!"
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