30 Years Imprisonment for Tampering with Essential Infrastructure

According to the Free State National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), a police forensic team was called to the scene and successfully lifted fingerprints, which matched those of the accused.

Tinos Ndebele has been sentenced to 30 years of direct imprisonment after being convicted on charges of tampering with essential infrastructure and theft from essential infrastructure.

On 8 June 2023, an alarm was triggered at a Telkom cellphone tower in Roodewal. Telkom officials arrived at the scene to find the tower's fencing damaged, a container broken into, and its door forced open. Inside the container, 12 batteries valued at R36,000 had been stolen.

According to the Free State National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), a police forensic team was called to the scene and successfully lifted fingerprints, which matched those of the accused. "Through diligent police investigations, the accused was traced and arrested," said the NPA.

During the trial, the accused claimed he was a snake catcher and had been chasing a King Cobra on the date in question, explaining that the snake entered the container, which accounted for his fingerprints at the crime scene.

Regional Court Prosecutor Petro van den Berg argued for a maximum sentence, emphasizing that tampering with essential infrastructure is a growing issue that harms the economy, affects citizens' lives, and disrupts the country's operations.

The Bloemfontein Regional Court found Ndebele guilty of tampering with essential infrastructure and theft from infrastructure. He received a 20-year sentence for tampering with infrastructure and a 15-year sentence for theft from infrastructure. The court ordered that five years of the theft sentence run concurrently with the tampering sentence, resulting in an effective 30-year direct imprisonment.

"The National Prosecuting Authority will continue to prioritize the prosecution of crimes and criminals that disproportionately undermine South Africans’ safety, the country’s socio-economic well-being, the functioning of the economy, compromise the well-being of the citizenry, and the rule of law," stated the NPA.