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Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
THREE armed robbers clad in balaclavas left a security guard half dead, nursing broken ribs and a fractured skull in an early morning raid on Sobukhazi High School yesterday.

Jabes Mthombeni, 43, the security guard endured a two-hour ordeal at the hands of the masked robbers who took turns to assault him, demanding keys to the school’s offices.

The robbers went on to ransack three offices and attempted to open a safe at the Bulawayo school.

Sources at the school said the robbers – who were armed with iron bars and axes – struck at around 2AM.

They said they suspected the trio was looking for money that was paid by pupils when schools opened on Tuesday.

It could not be established yesterday if anything was stolen as the school’s authorities were not reachable for comment.

Sources told The Chronicle that the robbers pounced on Mthombeni and demanded keys to the bursar’s office.

“They stole up behind Mthombeni and hit him with an iron bar on the head. They hit him repeatedly on the head, ribs and chest with iron bars,” said a source who asked not to be named.

“The robbers were armed with metal objects and an axe. They tied Mthombeni’s hands and legs together with a piece of rope before dragging him to the staff room, which wasn’t locked.”

A teacher at the school said the robbers forced the security guard to lie on the floor and demanded keys to the bursar’s office.

“He insisted that he didn’t have the keys and they continued to attack him until he lost consciousness and they took away his cellphones.”

The teacher said two of the robbers proceeded to the administration block, where they broke into the bursar and headmistress’ offices while one of them stood on guard in the staff room.

“The two robbers spent more than two hours searching the offices for money. They tried to open a safe, which was in one of the offices but they failed. They left around 4AM,” added the teacher.

When members of staff reported for work yesterday morning they found a bloody Mthombeni trussed up.

“We thought he was dead. Someone noticed him move and we called an ambulance. He was rushed to hospital at around 7AM and the police were notified,” said the teacher.

“They left the offices in shambles. We think they knew the security arrangement at the school because they took their time to go through the offices.”

Sources at Mpilo Central Hospital said Mthombeni suffered broken ribs, a fractured arm and head injuries.

Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo and Bulawayo provincial education director Dan Moyo could not be reached for comment.

Armed and plain robbery cases are common in Bulawayo, with schools and supermarkets being the most favoured targets.

Last month, daring thieves broke into prominent businessman Raj Modi’s Liquor Hub Wholesale Centre in Bulawayo’s central business district and got away with more than $52,000.