Justice was served on five men at the Durban District Court on Thursday last week when Mduduzi Buthelezi, 52, Sphelele Mazibuko, 22, Mandla Ngcobo, 59, John Thobela, 46 and Sabelo Shandu, 23 received hefty sentences for the involvement in the theft they committed in July 2021.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the five men were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment following their conviction on the theft they committed during the KZN riots.
“During this period, a business in Chesterville, Ayoba Cold Storage, was looted and partly burnt by members of the public. The owner of the business, (a) Mr Luthuli imported meat from Brazil which he sold to various franchises/stores. A while after the looting, police in the area were conducting stop and search operations when they stopped a bakkie driven by one of the accused. He was transporting about 60 boxes at the back of the bakkie and his co-accused was sitting on top of the boxes. They were taken to the police station where Luthuli identified the goods as his,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
In court, district court prosecutor Shenaaz Hoosen led the testimonies of the investigating officer and the business owner who told the court that he was able to identify his boxes by the Brazil stickers that were on them. He said that the looting had caused him to lose millions of rands that he is yet to recover.
“The accused were sentenced accordingly: Mr Buthelezi, Mr Ngcobo and Mr Thobela were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each, while Mr Mazibuko and Mr Shandu were each sentenced to five years imprisonment,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara. “Together with the sentence the KZN Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a high court order granting the attachment of the vehicle that was used in the commission of the offence. State advocate Mr Sakhile Ngcobo and senior special investigator Mr Akbar Ally, obtained the high court order granting the attachment of Thobela’s bakkie.”
Ms Ramkisson-Kara said this case is an example of how the units within the NPA are working together with the SAPS to ensure that criminals are brought to justice. They hope that the sentences will have the desired deterrent effect. She commended the work done by both the prosecution and investigation team.