Former Prasa employee sentenced to 12 years in jail for theft of copper cables worth R1 million

DURBAN - A 43-year-old former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) employee has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Scottburgh Regional Court for cable theft.

Sphiwe Mngadi was convicted for tampering with or destroying essential infrastructure in the eMkhomazi area in April 2018.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Natasha Kara, said Mngadi was employed at Prasa at the time.

Kara said on the day of the incident two Prasa security guards on patrol spotted Mngadi and another person near a railway line. She said since the men were in a Prasa vehicle, the guards found nothing out of order and continued with their patrolling duties.

“After 20 minutes, the guards returned to the site and found that the copper cables had been removed. They then approached Mngadi and asked him whether he had the authority to remove the cables.

“Mngadi could not explain why he was in possession of the 12 rolls of copper cables (approximately 192 kgs) that he had removed,” she said

Kara said the copper had an estimated value of R1 million.

“The guards contacted their management and Mngadi and his accomplice were arrested,” she said.

The accomplice was acquitted as he was Mngadi’s subordinate and was not aware of correct procedures, she said.

During the court proceedings, regional court prosecutor Sibusiso Mhlongo led the testimonies of the two security guards who were on patrol, as well as Prasa managers.

She said the managers told the court that at no stage did they ever authorise Mngadi to remove the cables.

Kara said the court deviated from the minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment while sentencing Mngadi due to the fact that he was a first-time offender and had been unemployed since 2018 when he was dismissed after his arrest.

“He was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment,” she said.

Kara said the NPA has made a renewed commitment to focus on these types of crime.

“The NPA welcomes this successful prosecution and appreciates the excellent partnership with the SAPS investigating team. The theft of copper cables has an adverse effect on service delivery and negatively impacts on our economy.”