Temba Magistrate Court on 16 February 2017 dismissed the case against Mr Kabelo Chauke after finding him not guilty on suspected robbery in a case that has dragged on for about one year seven months.
Mr Chauke was arrested on 16 July 2015 at Tladistad on suspicion of being the driver of a getaway car at a robbery of Lenkerile Supermarket and charged with possession of a gun and seven live rounds of ammunition without a permit.
In passing judgment on 16 February 2017, the magistrate said none of the six witnesses saw Mr Chauke at the scene or can link him to the robbery. He said all witnesses could not testify that they saw Mr Chauke drive the car and the state failed to provide evidence beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Chauke was guilty of robbery and that the gun and ammunition belonged to him.
The shopkeeper of the supermarket that was robbed said on 16 July 2015 at about 18:00, two men entered her story and demanded the keys to the safe room and robbed her and her employees of cell phones and money before they locked them up in the room. They also helped themselves to some more money and cigarettes in the shop on their way out.
The robbers then got off in an Opel Corsa that is alleged to have been driven by Mr Chauke.
The getaway car was later stopped by the police after an alert was sent out and a gun, cigarettes and about R77 worth of coins were discovered in a bag that was left in the car by the robbers who escaped.
In his plea, Mr Chauke said he picked up the two accused robbers at Jubilee Mall on the same day of the robbery and did not know that they had a gun or what their motive was. He only became aware when he was asked to drive faster after the robbery. He also said he was not aware that a robbery had taken place where they stopped at the store.
The case against him was withdrawn on lack of positive identification as the driver of the getaway car and evidence that the gun and ammunition belonged to him.
