Man gets 20 years in jail for robbing elderly couple at pension paypoint
A 41-year-old man, known as 'Schoolboy', robbed the couple while they were sitting in their vehicle.
LIMPOPO – The Provincial Commissioner of SAPS, Lt Gen Nneke Ledwaba, has applauded detectives at the Phalaborwa Provincial Investigative Unit after a 41-year-old man received a lengthy prison sentence.
The man, Matome Mackson Matswi, was arrested following an armed robbery he committed on 9 June 2017 in Namakgale. Police Spokesperson, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said in a statement that the accused, popularly known as ‘Schoolboy’, robbed a couple at a pension paypoint in Namakgale outside Phalaborwa.Â
“They [a man and his wife] were sitting inside their vehicle that was parked in the vicinity. He produced a firearm, threatened to kill them and then robbed them of R35 000, which they intended to loan to social grant recipients. He thereafter fled the scene using the couple’s  bakkie,” Mojapelo said.Â
The man was later arrested at Bokgaga village in the Maake policing area, where he was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm and the motor vehicle with altered registration number plates, Mojapelo added.
“Meticulous investigations conducted by the detectives attached to the Provincial Investigative Unit, assisted by the Tzaneen Tracing Team in collecting relevant evidence, following up on information received and ultimately nabbing this armed robber, enabled the court to pass this long jail term against him,” he said.
The Phalaborwa Regional Court yesterday, 16 July, sentenced Matswi to 20 years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
An additional ten years’ imprisonment for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and a stolen motor vehicle was also added. The sentences will run concurrently. The judge further declared him unfit to possess a firearm, Mojapelo added.
