THE victim of a residential armed robbery, who sustained a severe beating during the traumatic attack, says he is satisfied with the ten year imprisonment sentence handed down to two of his attackers by the Richards Bay Regional Court.
Hein Coetzer and his wife Bianca were overpowered in their granny flat in Arboretum in December 2013 by armed men who jumped over the fence and forced their way into the flat, while the couple was watching television.
The owners of the main residence were also taken hostage when first the husband, followed by his wife, investigated.
The four complainants were held at gunpoint and brutally kicked and assaulted while the flat was ransacked.
They were rescued when a security guard of a neighbouring guest house saw the robbery in progress and alerted the police, who arrived on the scene within minutes.
One of the suspects was shot, but manged to flee the scene, while a second suspect also escaped on foot.
Muntukhona Buthelezi (40) and Vusumuzi Mlambo (43) were apprehended, while a third accused, Sifiso Mhlongo (34), was arrested in the getaway vehicle.
Regional Court Prosecutor Sharon Bux charged the three with robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Identification parade
Buthelezi and Mlambo were positively identified during an identification parade which the court accepted.
Mhlongo was however acquitted because he was never seen by the State witnesses.
Buthelezi and Mlambo were convicted by Regional Court Magistrate AB Ntshangase.
The State proved that Buthelezi has a previous conviction for robbery, while Mlambo has a previous conviction for possession of illegal firearms and ammunition.
Magistrate Ntshangase, however, found substantial and compelling factors presented by the defence in mitigation of sentence and deviated from the mandatory 15 years prescribed for the offense.
Coetzer said the ordeal left them traumatised in many ways, but the sentence would bring a degree of closure.
‘I battle to sleep at night, always feel on edge and we spend a fortune on security. Our lives were definitely impacted by what happened to us.’
