Two SANDF employees who were arrested in February for allegedly stealing rifles and pistols from the Pretoria military base have been granted bail by a Senior Military Judge.
The 36-year-old Lance Corporal (LCpl) Sidwell Babini Tyawana and 28-year-old Sapper (combat engineer) Tumelo Christian Mangale allegedly stole 18 R-4 Rifles and 3 pistols from the SA Army Engineer Formation in Tek Base in Lyttelton.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi says when the army realised that the weapons were missing a joint investigation by the Military Police and the Gauteng Branch of the Hawks was launched.
He says in February the investigation led them to LCPL Tyawana in Oudtshoorn where he was arrested and just two days later Mangale was nabbed while he was on duty at the SA Army Engineer Formation.
The investigators discovered some of the stolen firearms, hidden, whilst others had been sold to individuals in the East Rand area.
Brigadier Mulaudzi says one of these individuals was 36-year-old Kgotso Mooketsi who works for the Department of Education in Gauteng.
At the time of his arrest, Mooketsi was out on bail for an unrelated armed robbery case.
He was arrested in Springs with one of the stolen R4 rifles and 3 empty magazines.
Brigadier Mulaudzi says Mooketsi was charged and has made two court appearances with a remand date set for the 4th of May.
The investigators went on a relentless pursuit to find the other stolen firearms and struck gold in Daveyton in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality where a further 13 rifles and a 9mm pistol were discovered.
Another pistol was found in the veld in KwaThema, south-west of Springs.
All the firearms will be sent for ballistic testing in Pretoria to determine if they were used in the commission of a crime.
Brigadier Mulaudzi says the two SANDF staff members, Tyawana and Mangale, are expected back in court on the 17th of June.
