A man who claimed he was catching a snake at a Telkom cellphone tower in Roodewal when valuable batteries went missing, is serving 30 years imprisonment.
The Bloemfontein Regional Court sentenced the accused Tinos Ndebele (30) on Thursday, 13 June, after his conviction.
The “snake catcher’s” sentencing was based on compelling evidence the police presented in court during the trial.
Evidence includes forensic results in fingerprints that positively linked Ndebele to the crime.
Mojalefa Senokoatsane, acting spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for the Free State, said Ndebele was found guilty of tampering with essential infrastructure and theft of essential infrastructure, such as batteries used as backup power supplier.
He said the batteries, which are essential for communication, were stolen on 8 June last year at a Telkom cellphone tower in Roodewal.
“Twelve batteries, amounting to R36 000, were stolen from the container. Telkom officials who went out to the scene found fencing to the tower damaged, a container broken, and the door forced open,” he said.
Senokoatsane said a breakthrough came with the police’s forensic findings.
“A police forensic team which attended to the scene, lifted fingerprints matching those of the accused.
“Through diligent police investigations, the accused was traced and arrested. In his defence during the trial, the accused gave a version that he was a snake catcher and on said date, he was chasing a king cobra which went into the container. Thus, his fingerprints were found at the crime scene,” said Senokoatsane.
He said Ndebele’s harsh sentencing was based on motivation by prosecutor Petro van den Berg that increasing criminality, such as tampering with essential infrastructure, was harming the economy, lives of the citizenry, and affecting the running of the country.
“The accused was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on a charge of tampering with infrastructure, and 15 years’ imprisonment on a charge of theft from infrastructure.
“The court ordered that five years of the second count (theft from infrastructure) run concurrently with the first. Thus, the accused was effectively sentenced to serve 30 years of direct imprisonment,” said Senokoatsane.
