The Victoria West Regional Court has sentenced 25-year-old Siyabonga Lekena to 15 years of direct imprisonment for robbing a 12-year-old child at knifepoint in August 2025.
The court delivered the judgment on Tuesday, 10 March 2026, convicting Lekena on a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The incident occurred on 13 August 2025, while the minor victim was walking to a supermarket in Victoria West to buy groceries. According to testimony, Lekena approached the child and demanded money. When the victim stated he had none, Lekena produced an Okapi knife and pressed it against the child’s chest.
The accused then searched the victim and stole a R200 note intended for the grocery purchase. Following the robbery, Lekena instructed the child to run and not look back.
As the victim fled, he observed a distinctive tattoo on the side of the suspect’s neck. This detail was later provided to the police and proved crucial in identifying the perpetrator.
Upon returning home, the victim reported the incident to his guardian, who alerted the authorities. A case was registered at the Victoria West Police Station and assigned to Detective Sergeant Mojalefa Mokitimi for investigation. Through his investigative work, Sergeant Mokitimi successfully traced and arrested Lekena.
The accused appeared in court multiple times leading up to the finalization of the case on 10 March 2026. In addition to the 15-year prison sentence, Lekena was declared unfit to possess a firearm.