THE four convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping at schools in the Pinetown area were sentenced to 35 years behind bars on Tuesday (July 14).

Handing down the sentence at the Pinetown Regional Court, Magistrate Muntu Khumalo said he found “no factual basis that all four accused are candidates for rehabilitation” and that they had not shown “an ounce of remorse ever since these proceedings began”.

 The four, Mthobisi Shozi, Brian Charles, Sbonelo Mkhulisi and Lebogang Magwaza, had, through their defence attorney arguing in mitigation of sentence, urged the court to consider that they were young and could be rehabilitated even with a lenient sentence.

Khumalo said though they are young, it has to be remembered that they had “carefully planned” the attacks on the two schools, which were carried out in broad daylight when teachers were assaulted and robbed at gunpoint of their personal belongings.

The magistrate highlighted that the offences of robbery and kidnapping are serious ones which “strike at the core of order in society”.

“These offences undermined the individual’s rights to possess their property, and to peacefully enjoy the property they own,” said Khumalo.

Also read: Mariannhill robbers sentenced to 30 years

On the four’s failure to show remorse, Khumalo said this was made apparent because regardless of the “strong evidence against them, which they were aware of”, they opted for a trial to unfold, during which witnesses had to relive the “horrible” experiences of their robberies at schools.

In this case, Khumalo continued, the aggravating factors far outweighed the mitigating ones, and the personal circumstances submitted by the four were “flimsy grounds” to be avoided by the court when considering sentencing.

Khumalo said the actions of the four had left teachers living in constant fear of being robbed and kidnapped at public schools.

“It makes it worse in the manner in which the accused behaved in these schools, in particular, at Tholulwazi, where even though they had firearms and could induce submission from the teachers, they still assaulted these teachers,” said Khumalo.

The magistrate pointed out that one of the witnesses, a teacher, had testified that the ordeal had been a life-changing one which they will never forget.

The four were declared unfit to possess a firearm.

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