Katima Mulilo: The 38-year-old South African national who was convicted of motor vehicle theft and contravention of several sections of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 29 of 2004 (POCA), was sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison in the Katima Mulilo Regional Court on Wednesday. Chante Coetzee was convicted on three counts. For the first count of motor vehicle theft, she was sentenced to a minimum 10 years imprisonment, whereas for count two and three which relate to contravention of section 6 and section 4 of POCA, she was sentenced to five years imprisonment for each.
According to Namibia Press Agency, through mitigation, Regional Magistrate Barry Mufana ordered that the sentence imposed on count two and three run concurrently, reducing the total prison sentence from 20 to 15 years. There were civil proceedings immediately after conviction, and the State asked for a confiscation enquiry to find out whether the accused derived or directly benefited from the unlawful activities of her crimes, which Coetzee did not oppose because she was legally unrepresented.
The court then proceeded to grant a confiscation order in favor of the State to the amount of N.dollars 480,000, which is the value of the stolen vehicle. This civil judgment allows the Prosecutor General to enforce the order in the High Court in future if the accused does not pay the fine in the upcoming three months. Kuomboka Car Hire and Rentals has not made an application for compensation to the State, and the insurance company has failed to pay the company, citing negligence according to earlier testimonies from Matengu Nkando, the owner of Kuomboka Car Hire.
Coetzee hired a vehicle from Kuomboka Car Hire in the Zambezi Region between 24 June and 02 July 2024 to tour Namibia, but instead, she illegally crossed into Zambia with the hired vehicle using ungazetted crossing points without the vehicle owner's consent. The vehicle owner lodged a criminal complaint at Katima Mulilo, resulting in Coetzee's arrest in Zambia on 18 October 2024. A court ruling in Zambia approved her extradition to Namibia in late January 2025 to face prosecution.
Earlier this year, Nampa learnt that the hired Toyota GD-6 pickup was sold in Lusaka, Zambia, before her extradition to Namibia by Interpol.