The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma, has welcomed the sentences meted down to two men by the Middelburg Regional Court on 13 June 2019, for robbery, kidnapping, possession of a firearm and ammunition.
During the trial, the court heard how Mpho Mogwerane (38) and Alfred Mmakolo (35), entered a shop on 27 September 2017 carrying a firearm and ordered everyone, staff members and customers alike, to the kitchen where they locked them up. The accused then took cell phones and cash before fleeing the scene. The pair was traced and eventually arrested on the very same day.
Mogwerane and Mmakolo were each sentenced to thirteen years for robbery, thirteen years for possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence and five years for each of the eight counts of kidnapping. All the sentences will run concurrently.
General Mondli Zuma appreciated the outstanding work done by the investigating team and hoped that the sentences will serve as a deterrent to other would-be criminals.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
