Just in for the ride: Man acquitted of vehicle theft

AFTER being convicted and sentenced for theft, a man who may have been an innocent passenger in a stolen vehicle has been acquitted of his charges by the Western Cape High Court.

Vuyile Maliti is now a free man after he appealed to the high court against his conviction for theft of a motor vehicle.

The conviction of Maliti’s co-accused, Mazwi Nkosi, who had been found guilty on the same charges, was substituted with contravening section 36 of the General Law Amendment Act and reckless and negligent driving.

The pair had been involved in a high-speed chase after the SAPS noticed the car they were driving. The vehicle came to a crashing halt when it collided with another vehicle.

According to court documents, the car had been stolen in Cape Town in November 2016 and a State witness, a SAPS member who had been on patrol with his colleague in a marked vehicle, had been part of the team that carried out the arrest.

“Immediately after this collision, he observed the driver of the pursued vehicle and the passenger alight from the vehicle and they both fled the scene. The driver was dressed in a black shirt and a pair of blue jeans. The passenger was dressed in a white shirt with a long-sleeved maroon shirt and a pair of blue jeans. According to this witness, (Nkosi) was the driver of the pursued vehicle and (Maliti) was a passenger in it.

“(The SAPS officer) pursued both appellants on foot and never lost sight of Nkosi. At some point, the appellants separated. He apprehended the first appellant with the help of his colleague. He emphasised that he never lost sight of the first appellant once he (as the driver) had alighted from the pursued vehicle. Further, he testified that as he was running in pursuit of the appellants, he was able to observe them when they looked back at him,” court documents read.

The co-accused argued that it was a case of mistaken identity when they were arrested.

Judge Derek Wille said: “I hold the view that the evidence against Nkosi is overwhelming.”