Delmas High Court sends cash-in-transit robber to 15 years behind bars

The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court of South Africa in Delmas sentenced Mduduzi Mngadi (41) to 15 years direct imprisonment on March 26.

Mngadi’s arrest follows an incident on February 6, 2023, when Fidelity security officers collected cash at a Pick ’n Pay in Leslie.

According to a statement by the Hawks, an officer was loading cash into the truck when four armed men accosted him, robbing him of his service pistol and a bag full of money and fled the scene in a white VW Polo.

The security guard ran to the driver’s side of their truck for another firearm and fired shots at the getaway car, fatally wounding the driver. The other four fled on foot in different directions.

“The local police were activated and arrested two robbers. They recovered the robbed cash and the stolen pistol,” reads the statement.

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The case was handed to the Hawks’ Secunda-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation for further handling. The two arrested robbers, Mduduzi Mngadi and Bhakaniya Mthembu, were denied bail and appeared before the Evander Magistrate’s Court several times.

The matter was then transferred to the High Court in Delmas. Mngadi pleaded guilty and received 15 years direct imprisonment. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Mthembu’s trial was postponed to December 3, 2027. The provincial head of the Hawks, Major General Gerber, welcomed the sentence and applauded the investigating and prosecuting teams for their collaboration in ensuring this sentence.

“This will send a clear message and act as a deterrent to other would-be criminals,” said Gerber.

However, he expressed concern that Mthembu’s case was postponed to December 2027.

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