• Xolela Mobo gets 12 years in jail for robbing a Woodstock phone shop at gunpoint in June 2022.

• Shop owner and community members caught one robber after chasing him down the street when he couldn’t escape in a getaway car.

A man who robbed a Woodstock phone shop three years ago will spend the next 12 years behind bars.

A Cape Town court found Xolela Mobo, 30, guilty on Monday, 17 February 2025.

Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Anelisiwe Manyana said the robbery happened on 3 June 2022 at a shop in Albert Street.

“The complainant was instructed to lie down and hand over the keys to the cabinet where all the cellular telephones were kept. The suspects then loaded all the cellular telephones into a bag. They locked the complainant inside the shop and fled the scene,” said Manyana.

The shop owner managed to break free and chased after the robbers.

“The victim saw a few of the suspects jumping into a motor vehicle, but one of them could not get on. The victim ran after the one who fled down the street, and he was assisted by community members in apprehending the suspect,” said Manyana.

Police arrived and arrested the 27-year-old suspect. They also recovered some of the stolen phones.

Detective Sergeant Joseph Edson ensured that Mobo remained in jail throughout the trial.

“The investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Joseph Edson, stood his ground during the bail application and proved beyond reasonable doubt that the suspect was not eligible to be released as he was a flight risk,” said Manyana.

Western Cape Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, praised the investigating officer and prosecution team for securing a conviction.

Pictured above: Jail.

Image source: File