Vosloorus SAPS clamp down on contact crimes, ten-year conviction
The suspect had other cases of malicious damage to property and assault against him - one reported before the incident played a vital role in the denial of his bail.
Vosloorus SAPS determined to curb contact crimes following the arrest and ten-year conviction of a Vosloorus man for a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Tebogo Nkata, 43, known to many as ‘Palm gun’, was found guilty at Vosloorus Magistrate Court and sentenced to 10 years of direct imprisonment and declared unfit to possess a firearm.
He started serving his sentence on March 17, 2022, at Boksburg Correctional Services.
He was arrested a day after he assaulted his 29-year-old girlfriend with a pavement brick during an argument.
The investigating officer Detective Sergeant Noel Mavundla of Vosloorus SAPS says the couple had an argument on November 5, 2021, around 06:30.
“The girlfriend visited Nkata where they used to live in Makhubela Street, Vosloorus. As they were arguing Nkata decided to put his girlfriend’s clothes in water to prevent her from leaving the house.
“The girl ran away looking for help, but was assisted nowhere. While running to her uncle’s house Nkata threw a brick on her neck.
“She fell at the gate of her uncle’s premises. Nkata caught up with her and started kicking her while she was on the ground,” he said.
Mavundla said the victim’s cellphone, a Nokia valued at R500, was damaged during the assault.
“She managed to escape to her parent’s house in the same neighbourhood and went to a doctor. She later opened a case and obtained a protection order,” Mavundla explained.
The detective said the victim has disappeared after he regularly visited her at her parents’ house to gather information for the investigation.
He said Nkata never saw the day of light since his arrest.
“He was called to do a formal bail application on November 15, 2021. When I went to verify his address with my colleague, they disclosed that my colleague is investigating another case against him, which caused that he was denied bail with the two cases were combined,” he said.
Mavundla said obtaining statements from the eyewitness for the case he investigated was a challenge as the community feared associating themselves with the case.
“There were about three to four people who were too afraid to give statements, saying Nkata is drunk, appeared to be mad and do not want to suffer the consequence.
“They did not want him to know that they are witnesses because their lives will be miserable,” said Mavundla.
“The court procedures went well because after I could not get the witness statements, I had to make my statement as the investigating officer (IO) explaining the challenges I encountered with the witnesses.
“The court concluded with what happened to the witness and my statement as the IO,” said Mavundla.
The suspect had other old cases of malicious damage to property and assault against him. A case that was reported before a recent one played a vital role to deny him bail.
According to Mavundla’s colleague Detective Sergeant Katekane Sarila, Nkata before his arrest was out on bail for a different case she was investigating.
She said the complainant is a senior citizen whose eight-year-old grandchild was assaulted with a mob stick at Dindela, on August 30, 2021.
