NEARLY two years ago, a couple was robbed at gunpoint and their vehicle – all packed and ready to drive upcountry for their wedding – was hijacked.
It was a traumatic experience for Veldenvlei groom-to-be Johannes Oberholzer and his fiancee, as well as a neighbour at the complex, who had rushed to help and was also bound and gagged by the four intruders.
The gang, armed with pistols and a knife, had cut through the fence at the complex some time after midnight.
They robbed the victims of jewellery, cell phones, rings and cash, before leaving in Johan’s loaded double cab bakkie using his gate remote.
He immediately called 10111 and police soon boxed in the fleeing suspects close to the Nseleni/N2 turnoff, where a fierce gunfight ensued.
The bullet-ridden bakkie was abandoned and one suspect was found dead on scene.
The story had a sequel in the Richards Bay Regional Court on Friday, when Zamakuhle Ntandane Ngema (34) was punished for his part in the crime by magistrate Mrs Moodley.
He was given 15 years each for the aggravated robberies of Oberholzer and the neighbour Trevor Wiggill, the sentences to run concurrently.
30 years in prison
Mrs Lungisile Bhengu prosecuted while Investigating Officer Const Khoza did the excellent legwork.
However, a further 15 years in prison was added for a business robbery in Alton, also in 2015, where Ravi Moodley was the victim.
In both cases, Ngema was linked by fingerprints – left on the bakkie and on the counter at the business.
He has three previous convictions for housebreaking and one for possession of stolen goods.
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