Nobert Zapambela faces robbery charges after a viral video showed him snatching a woman’s cellphone in Brooklyn, Pretoria.
The Zimbabwean man captured in a viral video snatching a woman’s cellphone in Brooklyn, Pretoria, in December has been charged with robbery.
Nobert Zapambela, 26, from Johannesburg, appeared before the Hatfield Magistrate’s Court on a charge of robbery on Friday.
Zapambela was apprehended by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department’s (JMPD) Tactical Response Unit (TRU) on 30 December 2025 after he was captured on video.
Zapambela charged with robbery
The footage shows him grabbing a cellphone from a woman and fleeing in a getaway vehicle. A video of the incident, which allegedly happened outside Kream Restaurant in Brooklyn, has gone viral.
The incident allegedly occurred on 28 December while the complainant was walking into the restaurant.
The suspect approached her from behind and then snatched her cellphone from her hands and fled. In the video, you can hear a vehicle speeding away.
After the video went viral on social media, internet sleuths identified the suspect by matching his face and distinctive Raiders t-shirt to social media posts.
These posts appeared to have been made after the incident, along with past photos linked to thefts, including a 2023 incident in Hatfield.
Arrested in Hillbrow apartment
The JMPD arrested the accused in an apartment in Hillbrow following the video’s circulation.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Lumka Mahanjana said the matter was postponed to 16 January 2026 for bail investigations.
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After Zapambela’s arrest, City of Johannesburg MMC for Public Safety Dr Mgcini Tshwaku shared a video showing law enforcement officers questioning the suspect.
They asked why he was stealing phones, who instructed him to do so, and who he works with.
Suspect admitting to stealing phones
The suspect tells the person speaking to him from off-camera that he operates in Pretoria.
“It’s true, Uncle, I did this thing, but it has disadvantaged me a lot. Some people have already reprimanded me, and I want to say to everyone whom I’ve stolen from that I’m sorry,” the suspect said in isiZulu in the video.
