Thobela Mvuselelo (53) and Emmanuel Sibanda (32) heard their fate at the Middelburg Regional court yesterday.

The pair was convicted on a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances for a 2022 robbery of Pep Store in Hendrina.

Thobela was found guilty on a possession of illegal firearm and ammunition charge, while Sibanda was convicted of contravening the Immigration Act by being illegally in the country. Sibanda is a Zimbabwean national.

The two men allegedly travelled from Johannesburg in 2022 on the day of the incident, to a Pep Store located in Hendrina. Upon arrival, armed with guns, they held up the employees at the store and stole cellphones. A getaway vehicle was used, driven by Sibanda.
They were later arrested and the stolen goods were recovered.

The magistrate highlighted in her sentencing that although the goods were recovered and no one was harmed, the pair did not care about the safety of the victims at the store nor did they consider their dignity.

In mitigation of sentence, the attorney for the accused told the court that Thobela was a breadwinner for his six children prior to his arrest, and that his family is now suffering in his absence. He asked the court to be lenient in his sentencing as he suffers from a stroke, high blood pressure and another chronic illness.
Thobela further added that he was confused how he was convicted because his fingerprints were not found on the firearm and he maintains his innocence.
He has a previous conviction of unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition where he was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment, in 2017.

The defence attorney further told the court that Sibanda is a Zimbabwean national and has three children, the youngest child was born since he has been in prison and he has never seen the child. She added that he was a first offender and asked the court to take into account that he has young children to care for and an elderly mother, and show him leniency.
According to Sibanda, he is innocent and his only crime was giving the robbers a lift.

The lawyer further submitted to the court that the accused had already spent three years in prison awaiting trial, and that no one was harmed in the robbery. She asked that the sentences be lenient and run concurrently.

The state prosecutor argued against this and highlighted the seriousness of such crimes and their prevalence in our communities. She added that because Thobela was convicted of a similar offence in the past, it shows he was clearly never rehabilitated by the prison system. The prosecutor also said it is no one’s fault the two accused were imprisoned for three years, because they chose to abandon bail on their own. She asked Sibanda to be deported back to his home only after serving his full sentence.

“ After taking into account the factors before me , I found none of the factors to be substantial and compelling circumstances forcing this court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentences in respect of these offences‚” said the Magistrate.

The magistrate highlighted that the two accused were employed, so their poor backgrounds did not have any effect in this case because there’s so many people who are born into poverty, however they are not committing crimes because of that. She added that Thobela’s health issues can be catered to in prison, as the system has sufficient resources in this regard.

The magistrate said the three years spent in prison is not compelling enough since the two accused decided to abandon bail on their own discretion, without ever giving reasons why they did so. She said she doesn’t know what their motive was behind this robbery, nor has the two accused showed being remorseful in court.

“ I can imagine how terrified and traumatised the victims were, considering that such situations where a firearm is involved, usually result in death‚” added the magistrate.

The two accused were sentenced as follows:

Thobela was handed a 15 years sentence on the charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
20 years imprisonment on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, and five years on the charge of unlawful possession of ammunition.
• The sentence on the charge of unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition to run concurrently.
Thobela will therefore serve 35 years in prison.

Sibanda received a 15 years sentence on the charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances and two years sentence on the charge of being an illegal immigrant. The two sentences to run concurrently. He will server 15 years imprisonment.
The court ordered that Sibanda be deported back to Zimbabwe after serving his full sentence.
The two accused were declared unfit to carry a firearm.