A man who stabbed a 15-year-old boy and robbed his own cousin of her cellphone in Zwelethemba, was sentenced to an effective 20 years direct imprisonment.
The Worcester Regional Court handed the lengthy sentence down to Xolani Mthethwa after he was convicted of two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Regional court prosecutor Cornelius Prinsloo led evidence that on 28 March 2022 Mthethwa stabbed a 15-year-old boy in the stomach as he was walking home with his younger brother and sister. He robbed the child of his cellphone.
Mthethwa was part of a group of five to six men that accosted the children in Mtwazi Street.
The injured boy was rushed to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. His younger brother was able to identify Mthethwa by means of a photo-identification parade.
The court heard that, four months later, on 2 July 2022, Mthethwa asked his cousin for money and she said she didn’t have any. Later that day he robbed her of her cellphone as she was walking with a friend in Kalo Street.
She immediately reported the robbery to the police and Mthethwa was arrested soon afterwards. To the police he was already a person of interest they were seeking in the robbery and stabbing incident.
The injured boy’s younger brother gave evidence via closed-circuit television with the assistance of an intermediary.
It was a closed court session to avoid testifying in the presence of the accused as the witness was a minor.
NPA Court Preparation Officers Azraa Majiet and Andiswa Sitole provided support services to the victims, which secured the convictions of the accused.
In aggravation of sentence Prinsloo argued that the personal circumstances of the accused must recede into the background as the sentencing objectives of prevention, protection of society and retribution come to the fore.
He said, especially in relation to the life-threatening injuries suffered by the boy, a clear message must be sent to the community: if you touch our children you will go to prison.
The court endorsed his submission and found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence in count 1.
The court found that due to count 2 being committed separately some time afterwards, the interests of justice would not be served if the sentences were to run concurrently and ordered that the sentences run consecutively, resulting in an effective term of 20 years’ imprisonment.
In a statement the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the victims will not be named as one of them is a minor and due to fear of reprisals in the area where the accused is well known and affiliated with a criminal gang.
