PRETORIA � The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Khehla John Sitole has welcomed the conviction and sentencing of four suspects in connection with cases of armed robbery, unlawful possession of arms and ammunition and possession of property suspected to be stolen, which were related to people being followed home from the O.R. Tambo International Airport.
The four accused, Simphiwe Zwane (42), Thulani Sibanda (28), Qhubani Tshuma (34) and Stanley Moyo (40) had been following travellers from the O.R. Tambo Airport to various destinations and robbing them.
Their reign of terror came to an end when, on 14 July 2017, members of the National Investigation Unit and the Gauteng Provincial Investigation Unit, during an operation to combat airport-following robberies, spotted these four men in a sedan on the R21 highway in the vicinity of the airport. In trying to stop the suspects, a shootout ensued between the police and suspects. The suspects were eventually cornered and arrested.
The suspects were initially arrested for unlawful possession of arms and ammunition after the SAPS team recovered a Z88 pistol, a 45 Calibre pistol, a .38 Special revolver and several rounds of ammunition. Follow-up investigations were conducted and the suspects were also linked to armed robbery cases in Kempton Park, Olifantsfontein and Yeoville.
Following the lengthy trial, all four accused were convicted on 24 May 2019 and subsequently sentenced.
Accused 1 – Simphiwe Zwane has been sentenced to an effective 31 years on all counts;
Accused 2 – Thulani Sibanda has been sentenced to an effective 30 years imprisonment;
Accused 3 – Qhubani Tshuma has been sentenced to an effective 15 years imprisonment and
Accused 4 – Stanley Moyo has been sentenced to an effective 30 years imprisonment.
The lengthy sentence handed down to each of the accused is most welcomed as this will send a clear message on the seriousness with which the Criminal Justice System views these atrocious crimes said General Khehla John Sitole.
However, this would have not been possible had it not been for the hard collaborative work by the investigators and the prosecution team for which they must all be applauded, added General Sitole.
Source: South African Police Service