‘Mercedes looter’ returns to court, pleads guilty
The car, a Mercedes Benz C300 Coupé, has since been forfeited and handed over to the bank.
CLOSE to two years after the July unrest of 2021, Mbuso Moloi (32) has pleaded guilty to theft and contravention of the National Road Traffic Regulation. The Durban Regional Court heard the plea on Wednesday, March 29.
This is according to Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, regional spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“His plea relates to the theft of certain household items from a Woolworths store in the Davenport area during the acts of public violence and looting that took place in various parts of KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021. He contravened the road traffic regulation by not having the requisite licence plates for the vehicle he was driving at the time of the commission of the offence,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
Also read: Order granted to forfeit Mercedes of ‘Woolies looter’
In his plea, Moloi said that on the day, he and his friend were driving around with the intention of purchasing some items.
“When they drove into Davenport, he noticed that people were emerging from a Woolworths store. At the spur of the moment, he stopped his vehicle and went into that store. He picked up a plastic shopping basket and filled it with a few items. He then left the store without paying and placed the basket in his vehicle before driving off,” said Ramkisson-Kara, adding that Moloi’s explanation for the car licence plates was that he had failed to replace the ‘dealer plates’ with the correct licence plates allocated to the vehicle.
Also read: WATCH: Durban Game store reopens after looting
The car, a Mercedes Benz C300 Coupé, has since been forfeited by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the NPA in KwaZulu-Natal.
“Since the vehicle was under a purchase agreement from a bank, it was handed over to the bank,” concluded Ramkisson-Kara.
The matter was remanded to May 31 for pre-sentencing reports. The court extended his bail in the interim.
For more from Berea Mail, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.
