MEC Alan Winde was mugged while on his bike on his way to work, had the last laugh as his bodyguard arrested the assailant.
|||Cape Town - MEC Alan Winde was mugged while on his bike on his way to work on Friday morning.
But the finance, economic development and tourism minister had the last laugh as his bodyguard tracked down and arrested the assailant within an hour.
Speaking to the Cape Argus soon after the drama, Winde, pictured, praised the superb work by his police protector. “We left my home in Durbanville at 6am. At around 7.10 we were riding on the bicycle lane through Paarden Eiland, near where the lane passes under the N1.
“There was a man standing in the road, and as we rode past he grabbed my arm and pulled me off my bike, also knocking my protector off his bike.”
The bodyguard was not named as he is a member of the police’s VIP protection services unit.
“[The mugger] leaned over, and pulled my cellphone out of my cycling shirt’s back pocket,” Winde said. “My protector kicked him, but he ran away.”
Winde and his bodyguard cycled to his office and tracked his cellphone.
“My phone is an iPhone, so we immediately tracked it to Woodstock.”
Apple iPhones are equipped with self-tracking technology using GPS locators.
“My protector and driver jumped in the car, and using a second iPhone, tracked the guy and arrested him. We are at the police station now laying charges,” Winde said mid-morning.
Asked about any injuries, Winde laughed: “At worst, I have a bit of a sore bum.”
Winde said he would raise the incident with the province’s and city’s teams working on cycling safety projects, and also report the incident to the City’s Mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, to discuss any possible further safety measures for the route, if they were deemed necessary.
In a statement this morning, Winde said: “To the man who stole my cellphone, your actions will not deter me, and the many others who enjoy cycling in our city, from returning to my bike.
“Next week, I will be back on my bike. You [the mugger], on the other hand, will be in jail.”
Cape Argus