Nkululo Marangxa (19) and Melisizwe Mvandaba (18), accused of robbing two Rhodes University students at knife-point, were convicted of robbery in the Grahamstown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Nkululo Marangxa (19) and Melisizwe Mvandaba (18), accused of robbing two Rhodes University students at knife-point, were convicted of robbery in the Grahamstown Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Angelina Banda testified that on 22 October 2008, she and Zakhele Ndlovu were walking back from a modelling show at the Rhodes University campus when they were accosted by two unknown men on High Street.
When the students turned into Kooie Street, the two men allegedly caught up with them. One took out a knife and threatened Banda, who was holding a bag, which she promptly let go of. The two men then took the bag and ran away but Banda and Ndlovu gave chase. They saw a police vehicle on patrol and alerted the officers, who also joined the chase.
Sergeants Daniels and Mgwebi went in the direction the suspects had taken.
In his testimony Sergeant Daniels said that a white male informed them two people had hidden under the bridge where the two officers found Marangxa and Mvandaba who were arrested in possession of a black bag, a cellphone and a knife. Marangxa ran away although he was later re-arrested in the early hours of the morning after Mvandaba had pointed out his address to the police.
Sergeant Mgwebi confirmed that when he searched Mvandaba after the arrest, he found a knife in his possession. They took the bag back to the police station where Ndlovu and Banda waited. The officers returned the bag and the cellphone with all the items still in the bag.
Marangxa and Mvandaba denied ever robbing the two Rhodes students. They said they were at a soccer match at Rhodes University until late and were on their way home when they stopped near the bridge to relieve themselves and found the bag. District Magistrate Behari Narishe rejected their testimony, saying the state witnesses had given a clear and consistent account and the “court has no doubt in accepting the evidence of the state.”
The two convicted men have no previous convictions and the District Magistrate Narishe said that because of their ages she wanted to get a pre-sentence probationer’s report before she can pass sentence.
The report will guide her about whether she can impose a prison sentence or correctional supervision. The case was postponed to 7 October for sentencing.
