EASTERN CAPE – On 04 March 2022, the King Williams Town Regional Court sentenced four accused for robbery with aggravating circumstances and three counts of kidnapping.

In October 2015, a truck with clothing worth R90 000, left a warehouse in East London to deliver the goods in Cradock and Queenstown. Along the way, a vehicle with unknown men forced the truck driver to stop and shoved him with his assistants into the vehicle boot at gunpoint. The accused later dumped them in a secluded area and fled in a truck.

The incident was reported to the Kei Rand police and the matter was assigned to the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team in East London. The accused were arrested and the stolen goods were recovered in an informal settlement in Mdantsane while the truck was found abandoned at a shopping mall.

The accused were taken to court where they appeared on several occasions until their conviction last month. Mbulelo Ntintili, Mike Mohamed, Siyanda Ngqame were each sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for robbery and three years’ imprisonment for each count of kidnapping. Lelethu Ntyinkala received the same sentence on kidnapping and eight years’ imprisonment for robbery.

Source: South African Police Service