Polokwane – Polokwane Regional Court has sentenced 40-year-old Simon Andile Nyathi to 15 years in prison for stealing a motor vehicle and violating the Immigration Act.
Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, provincial police spokesperson, said Nyathi was arrested in May 2024 near a fuel station along the N1 freeway.
“Members of the Limpopo provincial tracking team, in collaboration with Mighty Security, and Tshimollo Security and Investigation, received positive information about a stolen vehicle, a silver Isuzu double cab,” said Ledwaba.
“The vehicle belonged to the SAPS crime intelligence unit, and it was reported stolen in Soshanguve, Gauteng province, on 2 May 2024.”
#sapsLIM Simon Andile Nyathi (40), was sentenced to 15 years by Polokwane Regional Court on 26/08 for theft of motor vehicle & contravention of Immigration Act. He was arrested on 4 May 2024 along N1 with a stolen #SAPS CIU Isuzu. The docket was assigned to Sergeant Mmalesetja… pic.twitter.com/shqqSbRXVr
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) August 28, 2025
After recovering the vehicle, police arrested Nyathi and charged him with theft of a motor vehicle and contravention of South Africa’s Immigration Act. Sergeant Mmalesetja Senyatsi, of the Polokwane vehicle crime investigation unit, was assigned to the docket for further investigation.
Nyathi was sentenced this week to 15 years’ imprisonment for the theft and two years for the immigration contravention, with the court ordering the sentences to run concurrently, resulting in an effective 15-year term.
Provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, welcomed the sentence and applauded the investigating officer and arresting team “for working tirelessly, as that ensures that criminals are kept behind bars.”
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
