The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) corporal – arrested last week after allegedly using one of the SANDF's luxury vehicles in an armed robbery – is also facing charges of attempted murder.
Corporal Jacob Marakala (35) appeared with his co-accused, Lucas Mudau (42) from Hammanskraal and Rendani Edzani (42), in the Dzanani Magistrate's Court on Thursday (26th). All three were arrested on Monday, 23 April, following an attack on a local hardware store at the Dzanani CBD, commonly known as the Biaba Shopping Centre, where the three allegedly robbed employees of their cell phones and fled the scene in a VW Jetta.
It was revealed after the trio's arrest that Marakalala was already on trial for allegedly shooting Carine van Staden in the chest during a road-rage incident near Pretoria in August of last year. (Read more about this incident here). Marakala was allegedly the chauffeur of Genl Hlatshwayo.
Shortly after he was arrested last week, the SANDF condemned Marakala's behaviour and said that they had initiated the process to have him discharged.
Marakala and his co-accused briefly appeared in the Dzanani Magistrate's Court last Thursday, where they were refused bail. Their case was postponed until 17 May for further police investigations.
In the meantime, the police have urged those members of the public who have bought a vehicle from Edzani to report it to their nearest police station.