VANDERBIJLPARK – A magistrate of the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday prohibited Vaalweekblad from taking photos of four suspected cash-in-transit robbers in court.

The men, Ntsete Mokoena (49) of Evaton, Petrus Sedikane Mofokeng (40) of Sharpville, Kaghiso Mhlangu (48) of Roodepoort, and Thamsanqa Jimlanda (44) of Evaton on Tuesday appeared briefly on charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, as well as possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

The men were arrested in connection with a cash-in-transit robbery in the Sedibeng district on March 8 during which R1.3m in cash, three cellphones, and a 9mm pistol were stolen.

Vaalweekblad submitted a written application before court proceedings began so that we could openly report on court proceedings and take photographs of the accused before and after the court session was in progress, to ensure that the taking of photographs did not cause disruption.

The state prosecutor, Nelisiwe Thabethe, indicated that the state was not opposed to the request.

However, the accused’s lawyer, Godfrey Mohohlo, objected as the defense intends to dispute the identity of the accused.

Moholo said that publishing photos of the accused would be “constitutionally offensive” and could prejudice the accused’s right to a fair trial.

This was the second court appearance of the accused. They first appeared on March 10 and are yet to enter their pleas.

Magistrate Claudia Venter ordered that she would not allow photos at this stage, “at least not until the accused’s bail application”.

It emerged in court that one of the accused had a previous conviction for trespassing and another had a previous conviction for theft. It is currently unknown whether the third accused has any previous convictions. The investigation is ongoing. The fourth accused has no previous convictions.

The case was postponed to March 26. for the state to verify the addresses of accused number two and accused number three and to obtain a profile of accused number three.