Four police officers appeared briefly in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday in connection with a Llandudno house robbery.
Jacobus Adriaan Gronewald (44), Bradley Dimitri Minnaar (28), Mthuthuzeli Mafanya (33) and Bathandwa Soldati (38) appeared in court following the arrest of Soldati on Wednesday morning.
Soldati was linked to the crime scene through fingerprints.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said the accused face charges of aggravated robbery.
“Three of the accused were supposed to apply for bail but this could not happen as Soldati was added to the docket (yesterday) and his legal representative also needs to get instructions from him, and further consult with him before applying for bail,” said Ntabazalila.
The bail application for all accused has been postponed until October 10.
Police spokesperson, Frederick van Wyk, said the arrests were made following an investigation by the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Unit after the house robbery was reported at Hout Bay SAPS.
“On (September 14) at about 1.35am, a house robbery occurred at a premises of a foreign national in Sunset Avenue, Llandudno allegedly involving several police officers. Investigation by seasoned detectives led to the arrest of police members over a period of time. (Groenewald) was arrested on September 14 at about 4pm at 35 Squadron, Belhar, and at about 5.20pm, (Minnaar) was arrested at Gugulethu SAPS.”
Groenewald and Minnaar made their first court appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on September 17.
“Further investigations led to the arrest of (Mafanya) at Bellville SAPS on September 19 at 6.35pm.
“The member was detained at Wynberg SAPS, and he appeared at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on September 23 with the other two accused,” said Van Wyk.
Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC, Anroux Marais, expressed “shock and concern” over the incident.
“The excellent detective work by the Anti-Corruption Unit is impressive, as well as the fact that they served justice without fear or favour, doing their job even as they realised the suspects would be none other than their very own colleagues.
“The Thulare Report, which is currently being implemented by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), pointed to deeply concerning levels of police involvement in criminal activities in the Western Cape.
‘Such actions cannot stand, and must be dealt with in the strictest possible way,” said Marais.
Cape Times