Durban - A Pietermaritzburg magistrate came down heavily on three armed robbers who attacked a shop owner and a couple, saying it was the actions of people like them that were holding communities hostage.
Magistrate Chris van Vuuren sentenced Simphiwe Gasa, Thandanani Gasa and Nkosinathi Msomi, to lengthy terms of imprisonment for two counts of housebreaking with intent to rob, malicious damage to property and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
Simphiwe Gasa, already serving a life sentence for another offence, was sentenced to 31 years in prison, while his two co-accused received 25 years each.
The trio, along with other suspects who are still at large, broke into the shop of Makhela Ngcobo in Taylors Halt on the night of July 20, 2012. They assaulted Ngcobo and at gunpoint ordered his patrons to lie on the floor and hand over valuables.
After robbing the shop, the men then broke into the nearby home of Funa Mandla Kunene, who was spending the night with his girlfriend.
They threatened the couple with firearms, and hurled verbal insults at them, before beating Kunene, and then attacking his girlfriend.
Kunene was forced to watch, with a gun in his mouth, as the suspects beat his girlfriend, and then shot her.
While she lay injured and bleeding on the floor, one of the suspects sexually assaulted her.
The magistrate said he had noted that while Kunene was testifying about their ordeal, the trio sat in the dock smiling at each other.
“These are the actions of people who should be removed from society. This was a cowardly and horrendous attack on innocent people,” he said.
Daily News