Cape Town – The former UCT student accused of posting on social media how to break into the Shoprite liquor store in Delft was granted R1 000 bail in the Bellville Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
Charged with incitement to commit public violence and/or theft as well as attempting to defeat the ends of justice, the 21-year-old Sihle Mnethe's next appearance will be in the regional court on July 24, said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.
A picture posted on Mnethe's Facebook page at lunchtime today, which was seemingly taken outside the Bellville Magistrate's Court after he was freed on bail, was captioned: "Always smiling!"
A Facebook user posted in reply: "This is the best birthday present from god."
Mnethe, who is from Harare, Zimbabwe, was arrested at his Delft home last week Wednesday after allegedly describing in a Facebook post on April 6 how to rob the liquor store and escape undetected.
According to an affidavit, his Facebook post read: “Delft Mall Shoprite Liquor is not heavily guarded and it’s raining, so if anything happens the guards will be caught off-guard.
"The police station is closed so their response rate is approximately six minutes which is ample time to grab whatever you can. The best way to exit is through the south entrance and into the bushes, then cross into Blue Downs or the N2. Bella Ciao!”
Detectives believed it to be a “credible threat” and “a well-reasoned plan to break in and enter the store with the intention of stealing the property”, as well as “a risk and possible injury to the security guards stationed in the Delft Mall”, the Weekend Argus reported.
Mnethe “reasonably foresaw the possibility that a person reading it would act upon his plan”.
Mnethe’s post was widely circulated, generating 20 comments, including a post by Basheerah Phillips, 29, of Delft, which read: “So nobody in Delft is gonna brake into Shoprite liquor mxm Jarrre julle is klomp k*k mense.”
The affidavit states: “From this posting, it is clear that Basheerah Phillips had identified herself with Sihle Mnethe’s call to people to break into the Shoprite Delft Liquor Shop and that she was also inciting others to do so."
Both Mnethe and Phillips were deemed to have “acted criminally by inciting the public in general to break into a Shoprite store and to break the law with regard to the current lockdown rules”.
Phillips has yet to be charged.