City offers R100 000 reward after guards shot dead in Phola Park

• Published date: 25 April 2024
• Author: Staff Reporter
• Publication title: Vukani

The hired armed guards were escorting municipal staff attending to sewer pipe repairs in the area, the City said in a statement

The City blamed “local extortionists” for the killings.

The armed security guards had driven to the site in Phola Park in their own company vehicle, while a City vehicle transported five operational staff.

On arrival, the teams disembarked to gather tools and inspect the pipe.

While busy, two armed men approached the City vehicle and another two headed to the toilet block where multiple shots were fired, said the City.

While the City staff and residents fled to safety, both guards died, and a female City staff member was also injured from a hard fall.

Law Enforcement and the SAPS cordoned off the crime scene, and the criminal investigation is ongoing, said the City.

Municipal services are under threat from criminal attacks in parts of Philippi, including the Kosovo shanty town where a stormwater upgrading project is under way, and security escorts are being used to shield staff and contractors, said the City.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis vowed that the City would not stop delivering...