Surgery robberies suspects in court

For almost a decade they preyed on the sick and doctors, allegedly robbing them at surgeries across Cape Town.

From Gugulethu to Rondebosch, they allegedly stole jewellery, laptops, cellphones, money and cars. But yesterday two men accused of the robberies got a taste of their own medicine when they appeared in the Cape Town High Court.

According to the state, Mbulelo Mgujulwa, 35, and Thabiso Lebitsa, 33, terrorised doctors and patients between 2001 and 2010. Supermarkets and a cleaning company were also robbed.

"One [of the suspects] would pretend to require medical assistance or, in the case of the cleaning agency, employment," the state's summary of the case reads. "While the 'sick' member waited in the reception area the other would ask to use the toilet" as a pretext for reconnoitring the premises.

Mgujulwa and Lebitsa are alleged to have robbed surgeries in Gugulethu, Wynberg, Claremont, Newlands and Rondebosch, among other areas, using knives and firearms. They were linked to the crimes through phone records and fingerprints.

"They would arrive on foot and take as many car keys as they could so that they could activate the remote controls of the vehicles and then use the vehicles they could access the quickest," the state alleges. ''They were callous [and] threatened their victims with violence, tied them up and sometimes cut the phone lines."

The two men have been charged with 20 offences, including robbery, the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and racketeering.

The state said there was little doubt that they would have continued to operate had they not been arrested. Mgujulwa and Lebitsa were remanded in custody.