The police in the Northern Cape Province welcomes the sentences that were handed down to two hijackers in Kimberley, recently.
Police spokesperson Capt Sergio Kock says on 9 August 2019 an off-duty police officer was hijacked by five men in Kimberley.
He says the hijackers took the victim to a veld close to the Barkly West Road via the R31, where a scuffle took place. The male police officer wounded one of the accused by shooting him in the leg. The accused tied the victim down and fled with the vehicle.
Kock says the police followed up on information and arrested the wounded accused, Solomon Olivier (37), at a hospital in Hartswater. The hijacked vehicle was found abandoned on the N18 between Hartswater and Jan Kempdorp, while the SAPS service pistol was recovered close to the scene on the R31.
Police followed up on information and arrested Thabo Olivier (25) at his house in Britstown a month after the incident, Kock says. The two cousins were sentenced in the Kimberley Magistrates’ court, where Solomon received 20 years and Thabo 15 year imprisonment for the hijacking. Both men received a further 5 years for kidnapping and the sentences will run concurrently.
The Provincial Head for Organized Crime Detectives, Brigadier Dick De Waal commended D/Const Tshiamo Mokwena for a sterling job done and thanked the community for their assistance in this regard, Kock concludes.