School theft accused to wait 3 weeks for bail hearing

Four Mdantsane men, arrested last week after nine of the 16 computers stolen from Nkululeko Senior Primary School in recent months were recovered, will have to wait until March before they can apply for bail.

The four accused, Lubabalo Phoswa, 23, Siphelele Jako, 19, Nyameko Maphele, 24, and Thanduxolo Tshemese, 23, made their first court appearance on Friday after the stolen computers were recovered on Wednesday.

They appeared before Mdantsane magistrate Luyanda Gobingca, who postponed their formal bail application to March 18 due to the court roll being full.

The men were arrested in a joint police detective and intelligence unit operation.

Their arrest came just days after they allegedly broke into the school last weekend and the the school’s 16th and last computer was stolen.

The school, located in NU1, less than 2km from the police station, and a few steps from the East London education district offices, has been hit by thieves 26 times in the past seven years.

In December alone, five computers were stolen from the school, and in January another five were stolen.

The men face charges of burglary of business premises.

Police spokesperson Captain Mluleki Mbi said the four were arrested in Mdantsane and in nearby Nxarhuni, where some of the stolen goods were recovered.

Mbi said the police made the arrests following several leads.

When police recovered the goods, some parts of the computers, such as the screens, had already been sold and police were now in the process of recovering these, Mbi said.

[Nkululeko Senior Primary] has been hit by thieves 26 times in the past seven years