ATM hacking accused freed on bail after magistrate's blunder in multimillion-rand case

Daily Maverick

21 hours ago

A man who allegedly made millions in cash by hacking ATMs in the Eastern and Western Cape was released on bail late last week after the Bhisho High Court ruled that the magistrate had made a mistake by not giving reasons for the decision to keep him behind bars.
One of the men arrested by the Hawks in March 2025 and linked to a syndicate that has allegedly netted R7-million by hacking ATMs has been released on bail after the court ruled that the magistrate hearing his bail application had made a mistake.
Mongameli Tom was arrested with another man near Peddie in the Eastern Cape after the pair allegedly hacked into two ATMs in Mdantsane, Buffalo City.
At the time of Tom's arrest the Hawks said that he was also linked to a series of ATM fraud incidents in the Western Cape. Tom has denied any involvement.
Tom and the other man were intercepted near Peddie on 17 March 2025 following a multidisciplinary, intelligence-driven operation led by the East London Serious Organised Crime Investigation team.
The Hawks explained at the time that the suspects allegedly disguised themselves as cash-in-transit security guards, armed with a rifle, to create the illusion that they were legitimately servicing the ATM. But instead they were using 'jackpot' software to hack into the ATM and take all the money.
Tom was arrested by the Hawks on 19 March 2025.
On 9 April 2025 he applied for bail but this was refused.
He is charged with 51 counts of fraud and 52 counts of theft which were allegedly committed between Cape Town and East London. Four of these offences were committed in the Eastern Cape and two in the magisterial district of Mdantsane, where he appeared in court.
In February and March 2025 amounts of R143,500 and R236,900 were taken from two ATMs at two garages in Mdantsane.
Tom, from Mitchells Plain in the Western Cape, is the director of two companies, Abakwazidenge Trading (Pty) Ltd and Khundulu Holdings (Pty) Ltd. According to Tom both companies made between R30,000 and R50,000 profit a month but had stopped operating after he was arrested. In an affidavit before court – detailing his personal circumstances – he stated that he had dependent children and had to provide for their needs.
Acting Judge Aaron Zono said the magistrate hearing Tom's bail application had not dealt with an affidavit setting out his personal circumstances.
Tom has no previous convictions nor pending cases.
'There is not a single reason in the magistrate's judgment why [Tom's] case or version has not been accepted or rejected. We may only assume that it was rejected for the fact that it is not referred to in the judgment,' Zono said.
'In fact, the magistrate's failure to accept or reject appellant's case is rooted in his failure to consider the same. One cannot accept or reject something he has not considered. No balancing act has been made by the magistrate.
'The magistrate did not account for the judgment he gave. He did not analyse the evidence before arriving at his conclusion. He did not explain why the evidence of the accused persons was not accepted and why that evidence did not meet the standard of being reasonably possibly true. He did not even explain on what basis he found that the state had discharged its onus of proof and why its evidence was accepted.
'A judgment without reasons is arbitrary. Equally a judgment that does not account for all the evidence is arbitrary. A judgment without balancing exercise between the two opposing versions or evidence lacks proper analysis and is consequently arbitrary.
Zono also said the State had not rebutted evidence presented by Tom, who denies knowledge of any crimes, but only stated that the prosecution's case is strong and Tom's case is weak.
He added that the magistrate should have given a reasoned ruling on why bail was refused.