The man who was caught on camera carrying stolen goods from a chain store and stashing them in his luxury Mercedes Benz during the 2021 July unrest in KwaZulu Natal, has pleaded guilty. The man appeared in the Durban Regional Court today.  

 HANDING HIMSELF OVER TO THE POLICE 

After the video of Mbuso Moloi (32) carrying goods from a chain store went viral, he handed himself over to the police. At the time, Moloi denied that he was looting, instead, he said he had found the goods outside the store and helped himself. He was released on a R5 000 bail. 

PLEADING GUILTY 

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Moloi pleaded guilty to charges of theft and contravening road traffic regulations. "Moloi's plea relates to the theft of certain household items from a Woolworths store in the Davenport area during the acts of public violence and looting that took place in various parts of KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021,' Ramkisson-Kara said. "In his plea statement, Moloi said that on the day, he and his friend were driving around with the intention of purchasing some items and when they drove into Davenport, he noticed that people were emerging from the store.  At the spur of the moment, he stopped his vehicle and went into that store. He picked up a plastic shopping basket and filled it with a few items before leaving the store without paying and driving away,' Ramkisson-Kara added. 

FORFEITING HIS CAR 

Ramkisson-Kara added that Moloi also contravened road traffic regulations by driving a car with no license plates at the time of the commission of the offence. In his explanation for not having the car license plates, Moloi said that he had failed to replace the dealer plates with the license plates allocated to the vehicle. Moloi's car was forfeited to the state following a court application by the NPA's asset forfeiture unit. The matter was postponed to 31 May 2023 for pre-sentencing.