Armed robbery at Mokuti Lodge

YET another armed robbery caused shock waves yesterday when robbers struck at the luxury Mokuti Lodge near the Etosha National Park.

Four men allegedly overpowered the security guard at the gate of Mokuti Lodge at around 03h00 in the morning. The suspects, who allegedly arrived in a red Toyota Corolla, handcuffed the guard, stuck his eyes shut with Sellotape and took his jacket before pushing him into the bush near the gate.With one of the suspects wearing the guard’s jacket they proceeded to the reception desk, were they did the same to the guard there.They then held the receptionist at gunpoint and stole about N$5 000 from a drawer, before leading her to a safe. They stole two rifles, three laptop computers and N$5 000 in cash from the safe before locking the receptionist in the safe and leaving the lodge.The Police yesterday said the suspects knew where to find the safe key and knew their way around the lodge, indicating that it could be an inside job.The Police found the rifles and the jacket in the bush near the lodge later in the day, but no arrest had been made at the time of going to press.Mokuti’s General Manager, Chris Muth, said all the stolen goods belonged to the lodge and not to guests.A few weeks ago a British couple was held hostage in their room at the Namib Desert Lodge near Sossusvlei. The robbers had walked six kilometres to the lodge, climbed through a toilet window and robbed the couple of money and electronic goods. A reward of N$20 000 has been offered for information and the Police are still investigating the case. tileni@namibian.com.na