Passenger: Police took an hour to arrive at Metrobus shooting scene

 JOHANNESBURG - A passenger who was on the Metrobus that was robbed near Ontdekkers Road on Wednesday morning said it took the police an hour to arrive at the scene.

"I personally called the police at 5:20am and they only arrived at 6:20am," 30-year-old Shirley Mattera, who was at Flora Clinic being treated for shock said.

The bus driver and one passenger were injured during the robbery.

The bus driver is 59-year-old Ace Marwala. His daughter confirmed he was critically injured and undergoing surgery at Flora Clinic to try and remove the bullet, after suffering severe internal bleeding.

Mattera described what happened in chilling detail.

Initially, three young men got on the bus at  a bus stop. 

"We thought they were just regular passengers until they took out guns and three more suspicious men tried to get on the bus," Mattera said.

Mattera said the passengers begged the driver to drive off.

"We said, 'Drive Ace!', 'Go Malume (Uncle)!'

As Marwala attempted to drive away from the bus stop, three of the men attacked him and there was a struggle at the front of the bus.

"As three of the men were struggling with Malume (Marwala), the others got on the bus and demanded our handbags," Mattera said.

The robbers quickly took what they could get and fled the scene on foot.

Marwala was shot when he and a number of passengers tried to run after the robbers.

"It was extremely scary when we realised he had been hit. He looks after us like his own children," Mattera said.

"We were assisted by two guys, Wesley and James, from a private security company alerted by a resident of  Third Street. They arrived 15 minutes after the incident."

The security company employees assisted Marwala up off the ground and also instructed bystanders on how to not contaminate the crime scene before police arrived.

Mattera also described how neighbouring residents came out of their homes, at that early hour, to try and help them.

She said, "It was very touching how these people assisted us with things like sugar water for shock."

Mattera said that although she was traumatised by the incident, she has no choice but to use Metrobuses again.

"How else am I going to get to work?" she asked, "Rea Vaya buses don't attend to our route. It is either taxi or Metrobus as I cannot afford a car." 

"I feel bad about the state of South Africa's public transport as a whole but, only the perpetrators can be blamed for this incident - it is a shame that it is our own brothers doing this to us."

Mattera said, on top of losing personal belongings and cash, many of the robbed passengers now also had to buy new monthly boarding passes as the robbers got away with those too.

SAPS spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mokgale said she did not have the necessary details from the call centre to be able to comment on allegations that police took an hour  to arrive on the scene.