Two individuals who were apprehended by Villiers police in the Free State while en route to Johannesburg via the N3 highway have been handed 12-year prison sentences for the theft of cellphone tower batteries belonging to Vodacom.
Welile Matshule Ndlovu, aged 48, and Optimus Moment Tshuma, aged 30, were each sentenced to 12 years of direct imprisonment by the Villiers Regional Court.
The sentencing follows an incident in which police received a tip-off about a Toyota Hilux suspected of transporting stolen goods on the N3.
Upon stopping the vehicle, which had three occupants, officers discovered 16 Vodacom cellphone tower batteries during a search. All three occupants were arrested due to their inability to provide a credible explanation for possessing the batteries.
“Ten tower batteries were found to have been stolen in KwaZulu-Natal, as they still had serial numbers, and the accused are facing charges in relation to those batteries in KZN,” stated Phaladi Shuping, NPA regional spokesperson. “They were only charged for the theft of six tower batteries as the serial numbers were filed off.”
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While all three accused were initially released on bail, the third accused, Bongani Ndlovu, aged 26, failed to appear in court and is currently a fugitive.
During the trial, Ndlovu and Tshuma claimed that they had no knowledge of the stolen cellphone tower batteries and were only given a ride by Ndlovu. They asserted that Bongani asked Welile to drive the vehicle due to his fatigue.
The State Prosecutor, Mphakamise Teki, instructed Warrant Officer Neels Du Rand to investigate the cellphone data of the accused. The investigation revealed that all three accused had traveled together from Johannesburg until their apprehension in Villiers.
Teki contended that the court should dismiss the version presented by the accused, as they appeared to be attempting to shift the blame onto Bongani due to his absence in court.
He argued that their failure to inform the police about their lack of knowledge regarding the stolen batteries at the time of their arrest and charges undermined the credibility of their claims.
“The court must reject their version as improbable and not possibly true and sentence them to a direct term of imprisonment because cellphone tower batteries are essential infrastructure and their theft has a negative impact on the economy,” Teki emphasized.
Magistrate Amos Moos aligned with the prosecutor’s stance and sentenced Ndlovu and Tshuma to 12 years of effective imprisonment each.
Cellphone tower batteries constitute vital infrastructure, and their theft poses a threat to both communication networks and the economy, underscoring the significance of deterring such criminal activity.
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