Durban – A Gauteng man has been jailed for five years for pretending to be an SA National Defence Force (SANDF) member and wearing its uniform without authority.
According to the SANDF, the Pretoria Regional Court sentenced Irvin Thapelo Mokgosi to a five-year jail sentence for falsely representing himself as a member of the SANDF and for possessing and/or wearing uniform with distinctive marks or crests belonging to the SANDF without the necessary authority.
Both counts were read together for sentencing and, in addition, Mokgosi was deemed unfit to possess a firearm in terms of the Firearms Control Act.
The Military Police arrested Mokgosi during the clearing-in procedure of 21 South African Infantry Battalion soldiers at Tshwane Regiment in Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria, in May last year.
Mokgosi's lawyer pleaded guilty to all charges on his behalf in court on Thursday after entering into a plea agreement with the State.
The chief of the SANDF, General Solly Shoke, welcomed the sentence and warned that no act of criminality will be tolerated and allowed to go unpunished in the military.
Shoke strongly reiterates that the wearing of any SANDF uniform items, including current military paraphernalia when you are not an SANDF member, is a punishable offence, the SANDF said in a statement.