POLOKWANE – A 43-year-old man convicted for robbery with aggravating circumstances and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition was sentenced by the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
This sentence emanates from an incident in 2007 when the convicted criminal, Chokes Willy Soafa (43) and an accomplice robbed a G4S security guard of over R100 000 at a restaurant in Polokwane. The suspect fled on foot with the money and a group of taxi drivers, who had witnessed the incident, gave chase and managed to catch Soafa and also recover two firearms, said Spokesperson for Hawks, Capt Matimba Maluleke in a statement on Friday.
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Police were called and Sofa was handed over together with the firearms. Further investigation resulted in the arrests of the remaining suspect and the recovery of the stolen money.
The remaining suspect were arrested the very same day and the money recovered. The second accused was sentenced in 2012 following his bargain plea. Soafa was out on bail until he was found guilty.
He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances, five years imprisonment for unlawful possession of ammunition and on two counts of possession of unlicensed firearms, he received eight years imprisonment on each.
The sentences are to run concurrently, Maluleke concluded.
