Copper cut, freedom lost: 12 YEARS EACH
Mike Moyo (22) and Tinetenda Sthole (21) were each sentenced to an effective 12 years’ imprisonment following the cutting of railway electricity cables.
Platinum Bushvelder newspaper | Thabazimbi – Two men who cut overhead copper cables supplying electricity for railway operations have each been sentenced to an effective 12 years behind bars.
According to Limpopo SAPS spokesperson colonel Malesela Ledwaba, the Thabazimbi Regional Court sentenced Mike Moyo (22) and Tinetenda Sthole (21) on 27 October 2026 for tampering with essential infrastructure, theft of non-ferrous metal and entering South Africa without a passport.
The convictions follow an incident on 11 October 2023, when the pair unlawfully cut railway electricity cables. The damaged infrastructure was valued at approximately R230,000. Each man received 10 years’ imprisonment for tampering with essential infrastructure, 10 years for metal theft and two years for entering the country without a passport. The court ordered the two 10-year sentences to run concurrently, with the additional two-year sentence served separately, bringing each man’s effective prison term to 12 years.
The Economic Infrastructure Task Team, led by warrant officer Samuel Temane, investigated the case and secured the evidence that led to the convictions.
Limpopo provincial commissioner lieutenant general Jan Scheepers welcomed the sentences, stressing that infrastructure crimes harm the economy, public services and communities that depend on reliable infrastructure.
