JOHANNESBURG - The Durban Regional Court sentenced a 29-year-old man to 27 years imprisonment for house robbery and carjacking, KwaZulu-Natal police said in a statement.
South African Police Services spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said Solwazi Pascal Msomi was sentenced on Monday after committing the crime in 2016.
"The accused was also found guilty for being in possession of stolen property. It is alleged that on 21 November 2016 , the complainant was entering the gates to his property in Crossmoor, Chatsworth, when he was accosted by three armed men."
Zwane said the suspects then entered the property and demanded jewellery as well as other household items before fleeing from the scene with the complainant's VW Polo.
"Within a short space of time, the suspects committed the second carjacking in Welbedacht West, depriving the complainant of a Toyota SUV."
Zwane said a week later, police officers from SAPS Malvern conducted a search on a suspicious motor vehicle and found Msomi in possession of the vehicle taken in the house robbery in Crossmoor.
"Police also recovered a substantial amount of jewellery that was taken during the house robbery. The investigating officer, was assigned to investigate the matter and placed the accused before court."
He said Msomi was denied bail and held in a correctional facility to secure his appearance at court.
"After two years of meticulous investigation, justice was finally served when the sentence was handed down to the accused," said Zwane.
“This sentence will serve as a stern warning to other criminals who are terrorising the citizens of this province. It is also an indication that the long arm of the law will play its course," said the KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Bheki Langa.