A Lesotho citizen has been handed a nine-year prison sentence after being caught red-handed stealing copper cables belonging to the City of Ekurhuleni.
Khothatso Adora was arrested in March 2023 while digging up cables in Brakpan, the municipality said on Thursday.
Adora, who pleaded not guilty, was convicted of tampering with and theft of essential infrastructure.
According to the police, copper cable theft is one of the most damaging crimes to the economy. Infrastructure at mines, Transnet, Telkom, Eskom and municipalities is the main target.
The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimates the economic damage of cable theft at R5bn-R7bn a year.
“This sentence ... sends a stern warning to other would-be cable thieves that the laws of the land will deal harshly with anyone who is found guilty of tampering with or stealing critical municipal infrastructure,” the City of Ekurhuleni said in a statement.
“The scourge of this crime has led to numerous power outages, theft and damage to city infrastructure affecting everyone. Members of the public are urged to continue working with the city in fighting the vandalism of critical infrastructure.
"While various measures have been put in place, the city still believes that the community has a critical role to play,” it added.
In 2021, the Cape Town high court sentenced five men to a combined 1,250 years in prison on 50 counts of copper cable theft-related charges. The cables, belonging to Eskom and Telkom, were stolen between 2016 and 2018 in the Namaqualand and Western Cape regions.
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