Robber hit by 'SA's favourite Tazz driver' gets eight years behind bars

A Durban handbag thief pursued by his victim in her Toyota Tazz and knocked to the ground outside the Bluff shopping centre in September has been sentenced to eight years.

Sicelo Mpanza, 28, who pleaded guilty, and two others hatched a plot to rob someone so they could sell the stolen items.

Mpanza said he was going through hard times and accompanied a friend to the mall while another man waited for them in the getaway car.

The pair spotted Bluff resident Sandy-Lee Ward as she entered her car in the parking lot and decided to rob her of her chain and handbag as she drove to the boom gate exit.

They approached her window and his friend pointed the gun at her. He leaned in and grabbed her handbag while his friend grabbed the necklace.

Mpanza fled and Ward gave chase in her car, driving through the boom gate and hitting him just outside the shopping centre. He dropped the bag as he fell to the ground. The bag was picked up and returned to Ward, who drove off. His friends fled the scene in the getaway car while he was arrested.

In his plea, Mpanza admitted he knew his actions were unlawful, wrongful and intentional and the stolen items belonged to the victim.

Prosecutor Vishalan Naidoo submitted a victim impact statement in aggravation of sentence in which Ward said the crime affected her and she was now fearful to go anywhere and suffers with anxiety. She said before the incident she was social, outgoing and felt free to move around. However, things changed and she is now often anxious when she leaves her home.

In sentencing, the court deviated from the minimum 15 year sentence, citing Mpanza’s age and that he pleaded guilty.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said: “We hope the sentence will have a deterrent effect on all like-minded individuals.”

At the time of the incident, Ward posted a video on social media and said she pursued the thief because “My whole little life was in this bag, that is what drove me. As these guys ran, I know out of the softest voice, I just said, 'Lord, those are my things. They are not allowed to take my things. They belong to me'.”

Ward said she had just been to the bank for a letter of confirmation when she was attacked at the boom gate of the shopping centre. 

“I did not draw any copious amounts of money. I had R2 on me but I had my driver’s licence, my house keys, my ID, my letter of confirmation and my bank card with all my details and my phone which is held together with sticky tape,” she said.

“I just put my foot down. I didn’t even know the boom gate wasn’t opened. I went right through it and I hit him so hard my bag went flying out of his hand and landed on the grass. I just wanted my bag. They were trying to steal my car. They were hitting me.

“I just wanted my belongings back. I hit the man. The bag was lying there. The petrol attendant came running. He picked up the bag and gave it to me and said to me, 'Well done, sister, you got one'.” 

An emotional Ward said she felt justice had been served.  

She was hailed on social media for her actions, with many calling her their “favourite Toyota Tazz” driver for chasing after the thief.

CCTV footage of the incident captured the theft and chase, with Mpanza flying into the air as the car hit him.

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