Witbank court sentences two men for robbing a hiking woman
One of the accused pointed the victim with a knife and demanded cash and her cellphone.
The accused, Smangaliso Mathebula (25) and Edwin Zitha (27), were sentenced by the Witbank Magistrate’s Court on November 4 to for robbing a woman at a hiking spot on the Witbank/Oggies road.
The court heard that on September 10, 2015 at approximately 10:45 the victim was approached by the two men. One of them pointed her with a knife and demanded cash and a cellphone.
Read: Hitchhikers assaulted in Mbombela, robbed of their belongings
The victim surrendered both her cell phone and cash to the two men, and thereafter screamed for help. The two men fled the scene into the bushes nearby.
Police from Witbank station responded to the screams and searched for the perpetrators. The two were arrested on the same day and the stolen items recovered. The court found both accused guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Mathebula was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment while Zitha was sentenced to eight years. They were both declared unfit to possess firearms.
