'I can describe the gun 100%'
2008-02-12 07:15
Johannesburg - Parlotones lead singer Kahn Morbee, who was robbed at gunpoint last week, was nearly kidnapped by the robbers as well.
The two gunmen, who held a firearm to Morbee's head, shouted to him and a delivery man: "Come along, get in the car!", but Kahn pretended not to hear and the robbers sped off.
Morbee was jumped by the two men, one of whom was armed, in front of the garage of Sovereign Entertainment in Randburg about 14:00 on Friday.
"I knew if I climbed into that car it was tickets for me. At first, when the delivery guy started shouting in panic, I thought they were just going to open fire.
"When I close my eyes I can still see the gun and I can describe it for you with 100% accuracy."
He said that when he managed to calm down his fellow victim, the robbers became surprisingly calm, too.
His frightening experience began when he went to take a case out of the car and he heard the delivery man shouting.
Intended to co-operate
"I thought it might be the German shepherd dog attacking him, but when I turned around I saw the gun."
Morbee turned away slowly, put his hands over his eyes and sank to his knees. His body language showed the robbers that he intended to co-operate fully.
The robbers rummaged in his pockets and asked him where his wallet was. He told them he thought it was in the car, and they took his cap and sunglasses.
On the back seat was a spare guitar that he had forgotten after a gig at Melrose Arch the previous week, and had just gone to collect.
The BMW X5 (in which the robbers fled) belonged to Sovereign publicity manager Tracey Horn and was fitted with a tracking device.
It was recovered later that evening at a townhouse complex in Centurion.
The robbers are still at large.
Went onstage despite robbery
The Parlotones performed at the Kingsway campus of Johannesburg University that evening.
Morbee said: "It did occur to me to cancel, because I was emotionally drained, but it was therapeutic to get up on stage and strum my guitar."
But, he'll continue to downplay the crime situation in South Africa when he's touring overseas.
"I would never want to live anywhere else. Over there, people just exist: at least here, we live."