Former mine employee sentenced to 32 years for hitchhiker robberies

A former North West mine employee who preyed on hitchhikers over a year has been jailed to an effective 32 years imprisonment. 

Goitsemodimo Kekae was sentenced in The Rustenburg Regional Court on Thursday.

The 34-year-old was convicted on an alarming 15 counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. 

The National Prosecuting Authority in confirming the sentence said Kekae was arrested following a spree of robbery incidents that were reported near Rustenburg, Mogwase and Koster from October 2014 to January 2015.

"It is alleged that the information reached the police about a person who was driving a Toyota Corolla robbing people in hitchhiking spots," said NPA spokesperson Sivenathi Gunya. 

He said investigations revealed that the accused would offer a person a ride and when the person got into his car, he/she would be robbed of their belongings at gunpoint. 

"Police then decided to conduct an undercover operation to apprehend the suspect. His car was stopped during the operation and the cellphones of the victims he had earlier robbed were recovered."

Kekae was arrested on March 11, 2015. He pleaded guilty to all the charges preferred against him. 

During sentencing, State Advocate Rodger Mareume emphasized the fact that the accused was employed shows that he committed the offense out of greed and with intentions to traumatize his victims and called for the prescribed minimum sentence to be imposed.

In delivering judgment, Magistrate Samuel Maboho indicated that we live in a society that is becoming increasingly lawless where firearms are frequently used.

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