Woman in viral Bluff robbery ‘ecstatic’ with sentence
A Durban woman who had her handbag snatched from her believes justice has been served after one of her robbers was given an eight-year prison sentence.
Sandy Lee Ward of the Bluff was last year accosted by Sicelo Mpanza and his accomplice while she waited to go through the boom gate of a local mall.
The robbers opened her car door, grabbed her bag and yanked her necklace off before fleeing.
Ward immediately pursued them, driving through the boom gate before knocking down one of the thieves.
The injured man was arrested. CCTV footage of the incident went viral.
Ward previously told Newswatch she didn't want to lose her bag, which contained her house keys and important documents.
Mpanza pleaded guilty in the Durban Regional Court and was sentenced last week.
READ: Robber caught in viral Bluff robbery sentenced
In his plea, the 28-year-old told the court he was going through a difficult time and needed money.
He said two friends he had recently met had plotted to rob someone at the mall and sell the stolen items. Mpanza says he decided to join them.
In her victim impact statement, Ward said before the incident that she was a social, outgoing person, but that she was now fearful to go out and experienced a lot of anxiety.
She says she is happy with the outcome.
"I am ecstatic, and I am so thankful that the courts sentenced him. I am happy with the eight years [that he received]. After we walked out there, I couldn't stop saying, 'Praise God’.”
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