Two men who attempted to rob a cash-in-transit van have been sentenced in the Khayelitsha Regional Court in Cape Town to 60 years imprisonment each.
Sakhiwo Khala, 42, and Siyabulela Mcelu, 37, were convicted on November 8, 2023, on charges of attempted robbery with aggravated circumstances (cash-in-transit), two counts of attempted murder, murder, two counts of possession of illicit firearms, and two counts of the unlawful possession of ammunition.
The Western Cape spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks), Lieutenant Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi said the crimes the duo were sentenced for emanate from an incident in 2015.
Vukubi said on the day of the incident, an SBV armoured cash van arrived at the Nolungile railway station in Khayelitsha.
“It is alleged that when the crew members came back from collecting the money they were attacked and shot by three unknown suspects. The crew returned fire and one suspect was fatally wounded during the ordeal and two other suspects were wounded, but fled the scene on foot.
“The suspects were charged with fatally wounding one of their own co- suspects. The crew members also sustained injuries during the shootout. The wounded suspects were traced and arrested,” Vukubi said.
Khala and Mcelu were each sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for attempted robbery with aggravating circumstances, six years imprisonment for each count of attempted murder, 22 years for murder, 12 years imprisonment for possession of illicit firearms, and two years imprisonment for the unlawful possession of ammunition.
The court ordered Khala and Mcelu to serve all the sentence concurrently, except that of the 22-year murder sentence. They will effectively serve 22 years of direct imprisonment.
The court also declared the duo unfit to possess a firearm.
Head of the Hawks in the Western Cape, Major General Mathipa Makgato commended the team for their sterling work.
Makgato welcomed the sentencing and said justice has been served and hoped this would send a strong message to would-be criminals out there that crime does not pay.