The Bloemfontein Regional Court has cracked the whip on copper thief Braam Bothma (21), imposing an effective 20-year prison term for multiple incidents of cable theft from Centlec and Telkom infrastructure. He was sentenced on Monday 13 April for charges including theft, damage, and vandalism of critical infrastructure.
Compelling evidence revealed that Bothma’s theft spree occurred between 2022 and 2024 in Noordhoek.
The court also declared Bothma unfit to possess a firearm. The accused was caught red-handed cutting and stealing electrical and telecommunications cables by law enforcement agents.
Centlec, the power supplier for the Mangaung Metro Municipality has welcomed the harsh sentence.
“These criminal acts of vandalism and theft of cables disrupt critical services, including electricity supply and communication networks, directly impacting communities and businesses,” said Tseliso Leba, spokesperson for Centlec, adding that vandalism and theft of copper cables acts impact negatively on the service delivery and contribute to increased operational costs for Centlec.
Earlier in March, the same court sentenced Teboho Letoane (23) to 18 years’ imprisonment, while Thabo Mofo (29) and Thabang Leeuw (24) each received 10-year sentences for similar offences involving cable theft, vandalism, and tampering with Centlec’s essential infrastructure.
In June last year, the court sentenced Lefa Olifant (31) and Modise Lebuso (30) to 20 years each for stealing Transnet signal cables valued at R56 000. The pair committed the crime in Heidedal on 28 and 29 September 2022. Security officials apprehended the duo, who were among four suspects arrested while stealing signal cables from a manhole on Transnet infrastructure.
