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Watching Vuyo Mvoko's face as the muggers rudely intrude in his private and yet so public professional space, I thought he was very annoyed and was beside his wits as to how to respond to the situation. Although shocked at the turn of events, his first reaction was that of concern for his work being interrupted and actually realized seconds later that he was being mugged. That I think must have first helped the turn of events.
By remaining calm he may have saved the day or shall we say night. These “Dumb” criminals relied on the black cloak of the night to perpetrate their deed that could have ended in the loss of life of yet another prominent journalist and editor. Blatantly and in a stupor reminiscent of the Americas dumbest criminal series, these thugs took what they wanted (cellular phones and money) oblivious of the cameras. Almost as if they were saying, “We don’t care for fame, we want the money....and the phones!”
At first when the thug in the blue t-shirt tries to grab Vuyo’s hand in an attempt to dig in his pockets, Mvoko forces his hand free from the evil grip and backs off. That was the threshold. Then “Blue t-shirt instructs his accomplice to “Dubula lenja le” meaning shoot this dog.
His reassuring the thugs afterwards that he didn’t do nothing actually helped calm the waters, that and remaining calm. Otherwise we were going to sing the famous song amongst mourners called Amagugu.
His shaking free and flight in the criminal mind would probably be seen as a defence and therefore a threat. Who is to say that by trying to break for it, you are not looking to put a distance between you and the assailant so you can pull out a gun or some weapon and put an end to his game. Who is to say you are not running away to get help. And the help may be a threat to his success.
Look his success does not only involve making off with his loot, but includes not being caught in the vicinity of the crime with the “exhibit”. Hence most get away attempts are as daring as the act of mugging or robbery itself. It’s all or nothing.
Later Vuyo is heard saying “Hey we’re being mugged. We’re being mugged”. Had he continued with his reaction he would not have had the chance to tell the world he was being mugged.
His video has shown how not to react in a mugging situation. It has shown the importance of live feeds and it mitigates the vulnerability of journalists out there. There is evidence.
The video has also shown how crime is rife in the Republic of South Africa and how it affects everyone, not just a select few. Hopefully this video will shut certain rant-mongers up to a degree. I'm talking about the ones that seek to claim target-exclusivity along racial lines when it comes to crime.
MyNews24
