Pinetown court delays sentencing for ATM robbery trio after lawyer's assault
The sentencing for the three men convicted of attempted murder and violent ATM robberies has been postponed for the fourth time at the Pinetown Regional Court on Wednesday.
The latest delay occurred because the lawyer for one of the convicted men was robbed and assaulted.
The 2020 case against Sthabiso Thusi, Scelokwakhe Xulu, and Nkosingiphile Gumede, who targeted and shot individuals withdrawing large sums of money from ATMs, has faced repeated setbacks.
The first delay occurred after Magistrate Muntukayise Khumalo convicted them.
Xulu requested a pre-sentence report when sentence proceedings were due to begin.
The second delay occurred when Thusi’s lawyer, Cebo Mendlula, was absent due to a family death, and a pre-sentence report was still outstanding. In January 2026, the matter could not proceed as Xulu’s pre-sentence report was still not available.
On Wednesday morning, senior prosecutor advocate Elvis Gcweka informed the court that the pre-sentence report was now ready, and probation officer Zandile Khoza was present.
However, Gcweka explained that Mendlula could not attend. “The challenge is that Mendlula is not before the court. He sent messages in the morning stating he was robbed and severely beaten. He also sent pictures,” Gcweka explained to the court.
He explained that Mendlula stated he would not have recovered in time to proceed on Thursday and asked for the matter to be postponed to next week.
The trio, who were apprehended by the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) during their investigation into the murder of ANC councillor Sibusiso Maphumulo, had their complaints dismissed.
During the trial, Constable Slindile Madinane from the PKTT revealed that the 9mm Girsan gun Gumede used in the robberies was the same weapon used to kill Maphumulo in October 2018, Lungelo Hadebe in November 2018, and Sanele Sanga in May 2019.
In December 2022, the Durban High Court sentenced Gumede to three life imprisonments for the murders of Maphumulo, Hadebe, and Sanga.
The sentencing proceedings for the 2020 case are now scheduled to continue next week.
nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za