The Pretoria magistrate’s court has sentenced two Mozambican nationals to 15 years in prison for cable theft.

Joel Kabene, 34, and July Sithole, 34, were sentenced on Friday for tampering with or destroying essential infrastructure. 

The pair was also sentenced to two years imprisonment for being in the country illegally.

The magistrate ordered that the sentences run concurrently and the offenders be declared unfit to possess a firearm.  

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the convicts were arrested on December 15 2020, the day after the offence was committed.

They were caught cutting copper cables worth R10,000.

''The two were arrested by the police the day after the offence on December 15 2020, after they were caught by members of the Combined Private Investigations (CPI) on the N4 bridge and William Cruywangen Street, cutting copper cables belonging to Telkom valued at R10 000, which affected Internet and data lines,’’ said Mahanjana.

In court, the two pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them.

However, prosecutor Rabia Ebrahim asked the court to impose the minimum prescribed sentence of 15 years direct imprisonment, regardless of them being first-time offenders. 

In aggravation, she further told the court that though the value of the copper was R10 000, the offence resulted in the loss of income for businesses.  

Mahanjana welcomed the sentence.

''The National Prosecuting Authority accepts the sentence and believes that it goes a long way in bringing such economic saboteurs to book. Damage to and tampering with essential infrastructure results in major service delivery interruptions as well as negatively impacting on businesses, communities and the economy.

''It is estimated that cable theft costs the South African economy between R5bn and R7bn a year. For this reason, this crime type is considered a priority by the NPA,’’ said Mahanjana.

kokam@sowetan.co.za