Tshwane VIP car chase case postponed to April

The woman who led police on a high-speed chase to try to avoid being fined had her case postponed to April 8.

She made a brief appearance in the Pretoria magistrate’s court on March 12 to face charges of common robbery and theft.

The accused, Mbali Ndlovu, allegedly took off with the keys to one of Tshwane metro police (TMPD) VIP protection vehicles assigned to city manager, Johan Mettler on Monday afternoon.

Lumka Mahanjana of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said: “She was released on bail at the police station. The matter was remanded to April 8 for further investigation.”

Metro spokesperson Selby Bokaba said around 13:30 on March 11, the TMPD officer instructed a woman driver he believed was obstructing traffic on Thabo Sehume Street in the CBD to move out of the way.

“The officer activated a siren and signalled to the female motorist to move to avoid obstructing traffic, but she allegedly refused to obey his instruction. He stepped out of the vehicle, approached her, and showed her his appointment certificate,” said Bokaba.

“He informed her that he was going to issue her with a traffic fine, and while he was busy writing down the fine, she allegedly grabbed his official vehicle keys from the ignition, [got into her car and] drove off leaving the officer stranded.”

The officer immediately called his supervisor and informed him of the incident, and the supervisor, together with freeway patrol, located the suspect through the vehicle’s tracking system and chased after her on the R21 South.

“During the high-speed chase, she allegedly kept ignoring the police’s instruction to bring her rental car to a halt but ultimately, did. Police politely asked her to hand over the keys to the state vehicle but she allegedly refused. Instead, she drove off again apparently in a rush to catch a flight. Police gave chase and eventually apprehended her at the OR Tambo international airport,” said Bokaba.

The motorist was later taken to the Pretoria Central police station where a case of common robbery and theft was opened against her and she was briefly detained.

The officer’s car keys were recovered from the accused.

When she was later released, she allegedly refused to sign a form to acknowledge receipt of property that had been removed from her when she was booked.

The accused was later determined to be a senior manager at a subsidiary of one of the water boards.

“The city manager was engaged in a meeting at the office when this incident happened, and the vehicle assigned to him wasn’t involved either as its keys had been snatched by the suspect. His protector stayed behind in Pretoria to guard the state vehicle while the suspect was being pursued by his colleagues,” sai Bokaba.

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