The South African The two soldiers, accused of cleaning out a military base in Pretoria of an arsenal of weapons, will appear in court again in early May.
Two South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers who are charged with stealing rifles and ammunition from their base in Lyttelton, Gauteng, have been granted bail.
Lance Corporal Sidwel Tyawana and Sapper Tumelo Mangale were arrested on 3 and 5 February respectively after a joint operation between the Hawks and Gauteng’s Military Police branch in which the weapons cache stolen from SANDF Pretoria military base was discovered stashed away at a premises in the East Rand area.
In total, 18 R4 rifles and three pistols had gone missing from the base, and while the majority were recovered, many are believed to have been sold to unknown parties.
The 36 and 28-year old suspects were granted bail by a court of Senior Military Judges on Wednesday 22 April.
Strict bail conditions
The two suspects are expected back in court at Thaba-Tshwane on 17 June 2020 after the military prosecutors and the suspects’ defence lawyers agreed that the investigation had been concluded and that the pair did not pose any flight risk.
Brigadier General Mafi Mgobozi, a SANDF spokesperson, told The South African that the two soldiers would be under very strict bail conditions.
“They have been put under very strict observation while they are on bail,” he said. “They must report to the SANDF police every single day and have been instructed not to engage with witnesses.”
He said that if the judgement were a reflection of the SANDF’s sentiment towards the pair, they would have remained behind bars.
“Despite the feelings, we must adhere to the laws of the court,” he said.
