The soldier accused of being part of a cash heist gang made his first appearance in court on Monday.
Sakhele Nkabi, 36, who is a SANDF captain, and his three alleged accomplices – Simphiwe Matwa, Lwandiso Lento and Masixole Dolomba – appeared at the Oudtshoorn Magistrates’ Court, where they were charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of a firearm and ammunition and pointing of a firearm.
Nkabi’s case was postponed for a bail application to 3 August while his co-accused’s cases were postponed to 28 July for their bail profiles to be compiled.
Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani says the soldier attached to the Infantry School in Oudtshoorn was arrested on Friday.
The heist occurred at about 11am last Monday, when a Fidelity security guard was jumped by two men as he was returning to his armoured vehicle after collecting cash from a service station.
They took his firearm and an undisclosed amount of money.
When the Hawks spotted their silver Nissan Sentra travelling towards George on the Outeniqua Pass, they stopped it and arrested the three occupants.
They confiscated two guns, the Fidelity money bag and a full SANDF uniform in the vehicle.
A loyal service medal was pinned to the jacket, which provided officers with a name and rank of the SANDF member.
“The vehicle that was used in the robbery, a white Toyota Tazz fitted with false number plates, had been driven by the SANDF member,” Hani said.
Police traced the Toyota to a garage of a residence not far from the Infantry School.