Court hands 15-year prison sentences to Mahwelereng armed robbers
In one incident the accused duo told their victims to undress and walk in the street naked, the police said.
LIMPOPO – Provincial Police commissioner Lt General Thembi Hadebe has taken note of the hefty sentence handed down to the two men and said that the jail term will serve as a ‘deterrence to other criminals’.
The accused, Abram Mandesh (20) and Brian Phiri (29) were arrested in December 2019 after they committed a series of armed robberies at Hospital View and Pholar Park outside Mokopane. The duo appeared several times in the Mahwelereng Regional Court without them being granted bail until they were convicted on three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, said police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo.
The conviction emanated from two separate incidents that were committed on December 14.
“In one of the incidents the accused accosted the victims in the street between 19:00 and 21:30. They threatened them with a knife and a firearm and then robbed them of cellphones and money.
“They thereafter forced their victims to undress and walk naked along the street,” he explained.
This particular incident was reported to the Mahwelereng SAPS and the case was assigned to detective WO Pankie Mashita, who investigated the matter. “The suspects were arrested within 72 hours after a cellphone which belonged to one of the victims was found in the possession of a girlfriend of one of the accused.
Mojapelo said the duo were on Monday (October 25) each sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on each count of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
All the sentences will run concurrently meaning the accused will only serve 15 years. The court further declared the men unfit to possess a firearm.
Hadebe concluded that the 15-year jail term will serve as a deterrence to other criminals. “The police are more than determined to eradicate any criminal activities anywhere in the province.”
