South Africa robbers attack envoyLast Updated: Saturday, 29 December 2007, 12:37 GMTThe Tanzanian high commissioner to South Africa was beaten
unconscious by armed robbers at his own farewell dinner in
Pretoria, police say.
The envoy, Emmanuel Mwambulukutu, is said to be in a
serious but stable condition in hospital.
Six other people were also taken to hospital after the attack,
including the ambassador's wife. One person has been arrested.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of violent crime in
the world.
A South African government official at the dinner told the
South African Press Association that armed men broke into the
diplomatic compound at around 2200 local time.
Rape threat"They ordered us to lie down, tied our hands, robbed us of our
cellphones, money, and household goods," he said.
"Quite a few people were assaulted, hit with bottles. They kept
threatening my 15-year-old daughter with rape."
The robbers brandished weapons but no shots were fired. They
made off in the Mr Mwambulukutu's own Mercedes car after
beating up another guest when they failed to start his Audi,
according to the official, who was not named.
Police located the high commissioner's car using its satellite
tracking device and arrested one man. He was shot and
wounded in the process, and taken to hospital under police
guard.
Police say they are hunting his accomplices.
Calls for a crackdown on violent crime in South Africa have
been renewed by a spate of attacks on high-profile targets.
These include:
- A Vietnamese embassy official shot and wounded at
his home in Pretoria in October
- South Africa's UN ambassador robbed at gunpoint in
his son's home in July.
But this latest attack seems to have been the most
shocking yet.
The South African government official said the envoy told the
robbers at one point: "Gentlemen, God bless you."
They are said to have replied: "We don't care for God.
Let's stab these dogs."
BBC