Johannesburg metro police have arrested a suspect believed to be behind the hijacked Bryanston mansion during a follow-up raid led by the city’s public safety department on Thursday. The operation brought together Johannesburg entities including City Power and Joburg Water (JW), as part of the efforts to clamp down on hijacked properties in the city. During the raid the tenants identified the suspect who was arrested as “Lawrance”, who allegedly collected rent money.
After the arrest, officers searched the suspect’s Mercedes-Benz C-class vehicle at the property and found a licensed firearm with 15 rounds of ammunition and a magazine with 29 rounds. The property has illegal electricity connections in the rooms, leaking pipes and trash strewn around the yard. Two vehicles and a motorcycle were impounded for further investigations into their registrations.
JW and City Power disconnected illegal water and electricity connections. Speaking to TimesLIVE, Malawian Christopher Marumba said he had been living with his 11-month-old child and wife at the property with no knowledge that it was hijacked. “I work on piece jobs at Kyalami and pay Lawrence R1,800 rent per month.
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I didn’t know that this was a hijacked property,” Marumba said. He said he would have to search for a new home since he had just found out that the property was hijacked. A tenant from Venda, Simon Tlakula, said he had been living there a while.
“The last time there was a raid here, my money went missing, amounting to R2,000. No-one must go inside my room,” Tlakula said.
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