23/10/2025
Mozambican National Sentenced to 25 Years for Violent Cash-in-Transit Robbery
Vryburg – The Vryburg Regional Court has sentenced a 32-year-old Mozambican national, Osvaldo Julia Cumbane, to 25 years’ imprisonment for his role in a violent cash-in-transit robbery that claimed the life of a security guard in Tlaakgameng, near Ganyesa.
Cumbane pleaded guilty to all charges — including conspiracy to commit an offence, murder, attempted murder, three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, two counts of pointing a firearm, and possession of ammunition — as part of a plea and sentence agreement with the State.
The court heard that on 2 May 2022, Cumbane travelled from Welkom in the Free State with a group of men to Ganyesa, where they planned to rob a Fidelity Security Services cash-in-transit vehicle. Two days later, on 4 May 2022, they ambushed security officers at Tlaakgameng Trading Store, opening fire as they attempted to seize the cash.
During the shootout, security officer Lebogang Leager Kakgola was shot and later died from his injuries at a nearby clinic. The other robbers fled the scene and remain at large. Cumbane was arrested on 15 January 2024 following an extensive investigation led by Warrant Officer Calvin Koope from the Hawks’ Mahikeng Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit. He was denied bail and remained in custody throughout the trial.
In delivering the sentence, the court imposed the following penalties:
7 years for conspiracy to commit an offence,
25 years for murder,
7 years for attempted murder,
15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances,
15 years for kidnapping,
7 years for pointing a firearm, and
7 years for possession of ammunition.
Some of the sentences will run concurrently in terms of Section 280 of the Criminal Procedure Act, resulting in an effective 25-year term of imprisonment.
Prosecutor Advocate Ayanda Mzamo told the court that the crime was motivated by greed and disregard for human life
