Limpopo Police Hunt 3 Suspects After Stokvel Cash Robbery, SA Laments Thuggery

• Police have launched a manhunt for a gang of thieves who allegedly robbed a social club in Limpopo of its money
• The incident happened after three men allegedly entered the home of one of the members where the stash was kept
• A robbery case has since been opened, while keen onlookers on social media aired their suspicions about the theft

SEKHUKHUNE — A Limpopo stokvel group is in for a less-than-joyous Christmas after its year-long contributions were stolen from a member's home.

Police have launched a manhunt for three men following the alleged incident in Sekhukhune on Monday, 9 December 2024.

Limpopo cops hunt stokvel robbers

According to information, the robbery happened a few hours after the members met to discuss distributing the money.

"The social club met at the victim's residence at about 3pm. They ended the meeting, and the members departed [four hours later], leaving the victim and her teenage daughter," said spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.

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He said that at about 10pm, three unknown men broke into the home and tied up the two occupants. Afterwards, they locked the victims inside a bedroom before fleeing the scene on foot, taking an undisclosed amount of cash.

"A relative later rescued them, and the incident was reported to the police, who opened a house robbery case. A manhunt for the suspects is underway," said Ledwaba.

Locals suspect foul play

Meanwhile, social media users formulated various theories about the theft, some suspecting foul play and arguing in favour of an inside job.

Briefly News looks at the heated commentary.

@kmosebetsi wrote:

"Every year, same nonsense."

@NdivhuwoBarnes said:

"Inside job. It is time people learn to save secretly by themselves."

@thandomasanabo added:

"Same old story. Just a different year. Stokvel members think, 'It will never happen to [us]'. [That] is the reason why it will happen to them."

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@MakiMarish noted:

"Every single year. [I'm] not sure why the money was not deposited into a stokvel bank account [and] then paid out into bank accounts or as money vouchers."

@Mark_Forty2 offered:

"Easy: collect people's money [and] when it's time to split the sheets, hire someone to 'rob' you and split the money with the 'robbers' and voila, you get a bigger share. Oldest trick in the book."

Armed robbers pounce on stokvel

In related news, Briefly News reported that a stokvel club in Bokgaka village near Tzaneen, Limpopo, fell victim to an armed robbery at the hands of unknown assailants.

The men entered a woman's home forcibly at night before demanding that she surrender the bank cards and PINs containing the stokvel's year-long savings.

Source: Briefly News