Man accused of buying Sandra Munsamy's stolen phone pleads guilty to theft

The man accused of buying a cellphone belonging to Durban businesswoman Sandra Munsamy has pleaded guilty to a charge of theft. 

Out on R5,000 bail, Jerry Ejikwe Ogbuana, 36, appeared in the Durban regional court on Monday and submitted a statement outlining his guilt. 

In his statement Ogbuana, a second-hand goods dealer operating out of Durban's notorious Point area, said he had been approached by a street beggar who alleged he had found Munsamy's iPhone 7 Plus in a bin and intended to sell it for R1,000. 

"I offered him R900, which he accepted and I purchased the phone." 

He admitted he intended to wipe all the information contained on the phone and resell it for a profit. 

The court heard that the lead investigator, Detective Warrant Officer Rajan Govender from the provincial organised crime unit, had approached Ogbuana before his arrest and questioned him about the cellphone. Ogbuana claimed he had no knowledge of the phone. 

Govender and his team swooped in and arrested Ogbuana on July 14 2019. 

During Monday's court proceedings, state prosecutor Kuveshnie Pillay said Ogbuana had come into possession of Munsamy's cellphone just two hours after the Westville mother of two had been kidnapped in Pinetown on May 30 2019. 

Pillay submitted that a substantial fine be meted out to Ogbuana as he had no regard for the laws of the country. 

She highlighted that he had two previous substance-related convictions between 2014 and 2018. 

"He is a Nigerian national who has been in this country since 2011. The country has attracted like-minded businessmen like the accused who have used the hospitality of SA to pursue their own interests and completely disregard the laws of our country," she said. 

When outlining mitigating circumstances, Ogbuana's attorney said his client was married with two children, aged seven and four, and had been in custody for two months after his arrest.

"He owns a second-hand goods shop in the Point area and earns an income of R7,000 per month which he uses to support his family. His plea today is that he's given full disclosure and is not wasting the court's time."

Magistrate Sophie Reddy sentenced Ogbuana to a fine of R5,000 or two years' imprisonment. He remains unfit to possess a firearm. 

Munsamy, a key figure in the multibillion-rand Xmoor Transport family business empire, was allegedly kidnapped by armed men, setting in motion a hostage and ransom drama that spanned six months.

Hawks detectives found the businesswoman alive and shackled in a house in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, in November, 162 days after she disappeared.

The Hawks said her captors had demanded a ransom of R140m.