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

Highway Mail reports that, handing down the sentence at the Pinetown Regional Court, Magistrate Muntu Khumalo said he found no factual basis that any of the four accused were candidates for rehabilitation and that they had not shown any remorse since the proceedings began.

The convicts — 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.

Magistrate slams ‘planned’ school attacks

Khumalo said though they were young, it had 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.

He said these offences undermined individual rights to possess property and to peacefully enjoy it.

On the convicts’ failure to show remorse, Khumalo said this was made apparent because regardless of the strong evidence against them, they opted for a trial to unfold, during which witnesses had to relive the horrible experiences of the school robberies.

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.

Teachers left in fear

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

He added that the manner in which they behaved at the schools made it worse, particularly at Tholulwazi, where even though they had firearms and could induce submission from the teachers, they still assaulted them.

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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