Three of the six men who were involved in the heist sat quietly in the dock as Magistrate Ian Cox read his judgment on February 13.
The six robbed a G4 cash van when it went to collect money from Spar.
A G4 security guard was headed to the cash van, parked at the entrance to the Spar, when two armed men pointed a firearm at him, disarmed him, took the cash boxes he had just collected from the store and loaded them into the trunk of a white Toyota Corolla.
One of the robbers, Sipho Dlamini (25), was disturbed and was left behind when his accomplices got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Dlamini fled on foot, but was caught in nearby Oboe Street, where he had jumped into someone’s yard. “He was found in possession of the two firearms, a .38 revolver and a 9mm that was taken from the G4 guard,” .
His two accomplices, Mzwandile Khanyile (26) and Kenneth Mamaribe (27) were nabbed later that day, after being stopped at a road block in Soweto.
There were five people in the Toyota Corolla, but they jumped out of the car and ran away, leaving behind Mamaribe, who was the driver. Police gave chase and caught Khanyile, while the other three have not been found. The three men, who are all from Soweto, denied any involvement in the heist for the entire duration of their trial.
They also denied knowing each other.
The driver on this occasion, Khanyile, claimed that he was hired to transport people to a gardening job in Benoni. Dlamini, who was arrested in Oboe Street, claimed he was surprised to be arrested while he was looking for a job in the area.
Mamaribe, arrested in Soweto after police gave chase and found in possession of a firearm, also said he was surprised to be arrested and linked to the heist. Cox rubbished all their testimony as lies before sentencing then to imprisonment for armed robbery and possession of illegal firearms.
Cox said the evidence against Dlamini is overwhelming and his version that he was looking for a job is false.
“I also find the evidence against Mamaribe to be credible and acceptable and his version to be false,” said Cox Cox said the driver, Khanyile, wants to paint a picture that he was a victim of circumstances.
“He wants to distance himself from the robbery insisting he gave a lift to innocent workers and claims to have not seen the robbery at Spar.
“He could not have driven away at such a high speed that he ended up leaving Dlamini behind, so I conclude that Khanyile was a part and parcel of the robbery and his version of innocence is rejected.”
