ONE of the late former president Nelson Mandela’s grandchildren is still not facing charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, and assault as the four people with whom he was arrested last week appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
The man, who is in his early 30s, was arrested in the early hours of last Wednesday alongside four individuals at Mandela’s home in Houghton, Johannesburg.
When the group appeared in court a week ago, Mandela’s grandson was not among them.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Phindi Louw-Mjonondwane said the case against Mandela’s grandson was never enrolled at the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court.
”We are waiting for the finalisation of investigations,” she explained.
Police arrested the young Mandela at the now dilapidated home of the country’s first president following the historic 1994 elections that ended apartheid.
The group was nabbed after the hijacking of an Uber driver in Benoni, Ekurhuleni.
Police say the Uber driver was assaulted and the four suspects face charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, and assault.
Mandela’s grandson did not appear in court after the group was arrested, with the NPA indicated that it was awaiting further investigations, an identity parade, and did not rule out adding him to the other four accused.
The NPA has warned the accused that they face between 15 and 25 years in prison should they be found guilty, depending on whether the incident was their first, second, or third offence.
Mandela’s grandson has had several brushes with the law.
In August 2015, the man was arrested for allegedly raping a then-15-year-old girl at an establishment in Greenside, Johannesburg.
The court later released him on R7 000 bail and the matter was withdrawn the following year.
Nearly three years ago, the man was arrested in Morningside, Sandton, for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and drugs following a raid at a property in which he stayed at the time.
Mandela bequeathed US$300 000 (over R5.6 million in today’s exchange rate) to his troubled grandson after his death in December 2013.