Emanguzi – Notorious armed robber and cross-border car thief Vusi Amos Zulu Malwane has been sent to prison for a very long time – 55 years in total.
The convicted 44-year-old criminal previously escaped from lawful custody in 2014.
Until his recent rearrest, Malwane continued to be involved in a litany of crimes in KwaZulu-Natal that included armed robbery, kidnapping, car hijacking, and cross-border smuggling of stolen vehicles.
Police said for more than a decade, the wanted Malwane led a syndicate that was behind a spate of motor vehicle hijacking incidents in Emanguzi and surrounding areas.
Malwane would thereafter smuggle the vehicles into neighbouring Mozambique through various borders in the province.
The long arm of the law finally caught up with Malwane and now he has been sentenced by the Ingwavuma Regional Court in KwaZulu-Natal, to a long prison term – that reads like forever.
Malwane was sentenced to a collective 55-year imprisonment for;
- kidnapping (6 years),
- robbery with aggravating circumstances, hijacking (30 years) and
- possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition (15 years)
Commenting on Malwane’s sentencing, National Commissioner of the South African Police Service General Fannie Masemola said he “welcomed” the sentence.
General Masemola said until Malwane’s rearrest on 9 May 2023, he was a “cross-border vehicle smuggling kingpin who terrorised communities in Northern KwaZulu-Natal”.
Malwane was rearrested by the Emanguzi cross-border operation task team deployed by the National Commissioner to clamp down on cross-border crimes, including vehicle theft, on 9 May 2023.
General Masemola said the task team continues to register commendable progress with the arrest of 75 suspects since its deployment four months ago.
“Following our interventions and deployments to the area, 37 vehicles have since been recovered and 27 firearms recovered, with 321 rounds of ammunition seized,” said General Masemola.
