Caught on camera: Viral phone thief appears in court
Nobert Zapambela appeared in the Hatfield Magistrate’s Court on a charge of robbery.
Image: Supplied
A Zimbabwean man who was caught on camera snatching a woman’s cellphone appeared in the Hatfield Magistrate’s Court on a charge of robbery on Friday.
Nobert Zapambela, 26, was arrested by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department’s (JMPD) Tactical Response Unit on December 30, 2025.
The incident allegedly occurred on December 28 when a woman was walking into the restaurant. In the video, a woman dressed in white can be seen walking up the stairs as her friend records her.
The footage shows the suspect approaching the woman from behind as she walked toward Kream Restaurant, Brooklyn in Pretoria. He grabbed her cellphone and ran to a waiting vehicle.
After the video spread online, members of the JMPD Tactical Response Unit traced and arrested Zapambela in Hillbrow.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana confirmed that the case has been postponed to January 16, 2026, to allow for a formal bail investigation.
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