The five men convicted last week of a spate of robberies in Camps Bay will hear their fate in the Western Cape High Court tomorrow.
Judge James Yekiso said yesterday the matter was adjourned so that he and his colleagues could take today to determine appropriate sentences for the offences the five had committed.
Luis Momadi, 29, Arnaldo Faife, Rogerio Laice, Sabastine Okele and Thamsanqa Mafuya were convicted last week on several charges, including housebreaking, robbery, racketeering and rape.
The crimes were committed between 2006 and 2008 at several addresses in Camps Bay. The accused have been remanded.
Yesterday their lawyers asked the court to consider the ages of the accused when the crimes were committed.
Age would have an effect on sentencing, the lawyers argued.
They also said their clients were the sole breadwinners of their families and that two of them were single parents.
“Age is one of the factors that must be taken into consideration. At the time accused one (Momadi) committed the crimes he was relatively young, only 26. He has matured since then,” said Mohamed Sibda. “The court must also consider that he was the sole breadwinner of his family and had three young children at the time.”
The attorneys said they believed rehabilitation would suit their clients.
However, State prosecutor Denise Greyling disagreed about the ages of the accused and said: “It seems as though the victims, because of their ages, chose to target people who were all middle-aged so that it would not be much of a challenge to cause them harm.” - The Cape Times
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