Man pistol-whipped in EL hijack drama

CLOSE SHAVE: A traumatised Ryan van Niekerk survived a harrowing ordeal after being hijacked in broad daylight in the East London city centre. Picture: PHLLIP NOTHNAGEL

By THANDUXOLO JIKA

AN East London man yesterday told of his horror hijack ordeal and near-death escape from a ruthless gang who nabbed his bakkie in broad daylight in the city centre.

A traumatised Ryan van Niekerk, 23, who works for Chubb Fire Equipment Sales, said he was attacked and pistol-bludgeoned at the intersection of Buffalo and Fleet streets, as he waited for a robot to change.

“I was parked at the robots when a guy came from the side and hit me with a gun through the (open) window,” Van Niekerk said, who suffered no serious injuries in the assault.

“He opened the door put the gun to my head and pushed me to the floor.

“Three more guys jumped in. One sat on me while another held a knife to my throat.”

The thugs drove off towards the East London airport and Van Niekerk said he was “constantly kicked every time I tried to say something”.

“They pulled off on a back road near the airport and pulled me out of the bakkie. The one who had the gun to my head pushed me to the ground with his foot on my head.”

While the other three accomplices were searching the vehicle, Van Niekerk tried to save his own life.

“Something inside me just told me that I have to do something otherwise they are going to kill me. I pushed his foot off my head and he fell ... I got up and starting running.”

The robbers, thankfully, did not shoot at him or try to chase him and he managed to get to Willow Park, where he phoned his bosses.

Van Niekerk said he did not know how long the ordeal took, but that “it all happened so fast”.

He said at the time of the hijacking he was driving a clearly marked Chubb van and suspected that the hijackers thought it was a security van carrying money.

Chubb owner Piet Coetzer said that this was the third time in two years that one of his vehicles had been hijacked. “That is why I am upset about this, but police have done a good job on all occasions and recovered them.”

Captain Stephen Marais said six police vehicles, Tracker satellite recovery and the police air wing helicopter reacted quickly when they were informed that a white Nissan bakkie had been hijacked.

He said the helicopter picked up a tracking signal from the vehicle near Willow Park. “We rushed there and found the vehicle near bushes with all four tyres slashed and some of the property in the bakkie was missing.”

There was no sign of the four men and, by last night, police had made no arrests, Marais said.