Reporter Mugged On Live TV, Brazen Thieves Disregard Camera In Robbery

Police in Johannesburg need help identifying the four men who mugged a South African reporter on live television Tuesday night. Vuyo Mvoko and his crew were robbed at gunpoint by a group of brazen suspects who made off with all their personal property — even while the camera was rolling, according to a CNN Money report.

Mvoko, a journalist and editor for South African Broadcasting Corporation, was just about to go on air outside of Millpark Hospital. He was there on a live remote to report on the latest news regarding the health of Zambian President Edgar Lungu, who was being treated for a sudden throat ailment. That’s when the unthinkable happened: the reporter was mugged by several men who disregarded the fact that a camera was rolling.

Two men were seen walking behind Mvoko as he waited patiently for the broadcast to begin. They returned and began speaking inaudibly. However, it was clear to the reporter that they were victims of a mugging in progress. In the video, the journalist gets pushed out of camera’s view, but it is obvious a scuffle of some sort is going on.

“Hey, we’re being mugged. We’re being mugged!”

The entire robbery lasted only minutes, but no one was injured in the incident, despite the brandishing of a weapon on the scene. Mvoko later talked about the incident back at the studio.

“He was looking for the phone and when I wasn’t giving him the phone, he calls the other one who has a gun, to say: ‘shoot this dog’ or something like that. So I gave him the phone.”

The bandits made away with phones and at least one laptop computer. It’s unknown if any other valuables were taken during the mugging. Reportedly, four muggers were present, but only two were captured on video.

The mugging of the South African reporter is the latest in a string of unrelated journalist robberies. Some suggest the crimes are the result of copycats who see reporters and camera crew as easy targets.

[Photo by: SABC via DNA]