Home

W Cape High Court hands a life sentence to man found guilty for attempted heist of SASSA in Nyanga

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Four years ago Cape Town was shaken to the core after a brazen attempted heist of SASSA grants at Nyanga Junction, escalated into a hostage drama. One of the members of a private Tactical Response Team, Patrick Castle, was shot and killed by the robbers.

The man found guilty of the murder, Mzimasi Marasha, was on Friday handed a life sentence and 25 years of direct imprisonment by the Western Cape High Court.

On May 1st, 2017, Nyanga Junction became the scene of a horrific crime as armed robbers attempted to steal millions in SASSA grants from a retailer. But it quickly deteriorated into a full-scale hostage situation with 10 people held against their will.

First on the scene was the private security and tactical response team. Among them was Patrick Castle. His sister, Carmelita Dickenson, says her brother was a husband, a father.

“He was off that weekend but he was called into work so it just shows you his commitment to the community and his job, you know, to be there that weekend,” says Dickenson.

Castle and his colleagues worked closely with the police to bring the situation under control and save the hostages. The successful operation saw the safe release of all 10 hostages and the robbers did not manage to steal any money. But in the process, Castle was fatally wounded.

The man held responsible for the crime is 34-years-old Mzimasi Marasha. He was found guilty on five counts including murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

After four long years, the family says they can finally try to piece their lives together again. Another sister, Samantha Harris says they believe their mother died of a broken heart earlier this year.

“It was just like a knife that got stabbed in our bodies and it was so traumatic because he died so suddenly we never got a chance to hold him, to comfort him or anything like that. So it was a ruthless killing that was done. He was a phenomenal father, brother, and son. So I’m just glad that justice was served,” says Castle’s sister Harris.

No remorse

Judge Derek Wille said he tried very hard to find mitigating circumstances in Marasha’s case. Instead, he found there was no remorse and agreed with the state that if Marasha was not shot and wounded on that fateful day, he would have committed more crimes of this nature.

He received a life sentence and 25 years of direct imprisonment.

“It won’t bring my brother back like a life for a life, so he needs to get what is due to him,” says Carmelita Dickenson.

The day after the heist was foiled, the then police minister, Fikile Mbalula, saluted the members of the security company who worked with the police. He also lauded Patrick Castle, calling his actions heroic.

More of this report is in the video below:

 

Author

MOST READ