Mbuso Moloi also known as the ‘Woolies looter’ has been handed a three-year sentence, suspended for five years, for charges related to the July 2021 looting.

Moloi, who appeared at the Durban regional court on Friday, also received a sentence of 18 months correctional supervision and will be subject to house arrest, coupled with community service of 16 hours per month.

Earlier this year, Moloi pleaded guilty to a charge of theft, admitting he stole goods from a Woolworths store in Davenport during the July 2021 unrest. A video of Moloi with the basket of groceries, which he placed into the boot of his white Mercedes-Benz before driving off, went viral during the unrest.

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He initially faced charges of theft and public violence relating to the looting. The state withdrew 16 other charges against him, including one of public violence. In his guilty plea before Durban regional court magistrate Melanie de Jager in March, Moloi said he had ‘acted on the spur of the moment’ and ‘impulsively’.

Mercedes forfeited and fined for traffic violation

However, he said, he did not ‘cause revolt’, nor form a common purpose to cause revolt or damage any property. Moloi also pleaded guilty to contravening road traffic regulations in that the registration number on his car did not match the vehicle license number.

He said he had been given the plates by the dealership and he knew he had needed to replace them but failed to do so. The Mercedes Benz C300 Coupe was forfeited last year by the asset forfeiture unit (AFU) on the basis that it was an instrumentality of the offences and was valued an estimated R500 000 at the time of the offence.

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Since the vehicle was still under purchase agreement from a bank, it was going to be handed over to the bank. On Friday, he was also fined R1 000, wholly suspended, for contravening road traffic regulations in that the registration number on his car did not match the vehicle license number.

In court, a social worker testified that Moloi was remorseful and regretful; she recommended a sentence of correctional supervision.

“Any sentence is a punishment; I don’t think Moloi should be sentenced harshly as he had already suffered trauma from having his face appear on social media.”

“He became the face of the looting when there were so many others,” the social worker said.

Moloi’s lawyer, advocate Willie Lombard, said his client’s case should be isolated from the looting and unrest that was taking place across the country during that time.

“Moloi already said that he was not part of any group and that he acted impulsively at that moment.”

“What he did was not premeditated or planned,” he said.

State prosecutor Vishalan Moodley said Moloi’s theft had a bigger impact on how the globe perceived South Africa, and the state of the economy.

“Because of the looting by Moloi and many others in July 2021, shops like Woolworths had to beef up on its security, get more cameras and security personnel, and to do this, stores had to increase prices of food, which affects the general public and everyone in this court,” said Moodley.

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Other looting cases

Five others arrested in connection with the July 2021 looting also appeared in the Durban Regional Court yesterday.

Sphamandla Khanyile, Sbusiso Jaca, Abulele Ndlangani, Bonami Luthuli and Philisiwe Mkhwanazi were acquitted of looting. However, they all received a two years’ suspended sentence for trespassing.

The sixth suspect did not appear in court.