MAN SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS FOR HOUSEBREAKING AND ROBBERY

FREE STATE – August Phakedi Mogoregi (63) was sentenced to eight years (8) imprisonment after he was found guilty by the Welkom Regional Court for housebreaking and robbery on Tuesday, 09 May 2017.
In 2009 Mogoregi, Timely Faith Coetze (33) and Foreman Matee (53) held a family at gunpoint at their home in Welkom. They stole jewellery, cellphones as well as R50 000 cash and fled the scene. Through intensive investigation by the Hawks and the police Coetze was arrested on the night of the incident, Mogoregi and Matee were arrested a week later in Welkom. The stolen jewellery, cellphones and cash were recovered.
During the court proceedings Mogoregi mysteriously got bail and never attended court thereafter. Coetze and Matee were each sentenced to 13 years imprisonment in 2014 by the same court. Mogoregi was located and rearrested last month at his hiding place in Qwa Qwa after five years on the run. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
The Hawks Acting Provincial Head of the Free State Brigadier Tsokolo Phusholi welcomed the sentence and congratulated the investigation officer for a job well done.
“This must be a warning to other criminals that you can run but you can’t hide from the Hawks. We found Mogoregi after five years on the run and brought him to book,” said Phusholi.