WESTERN CAPE – Two Zimbabwean men have been jailed for seven years in South Africa for stealing cell tower batteries.
Munyaradzi Kachingwe, 32, and Cosmos Ziwande, 38, were arrested in July and charged with possession, tampering or damaging the essential infrastructure. They were also charged under the Immigration Act.
They were sentenced at the Vredendal Regional Court in the Western Cape on Wednesday.
The court heard that the two men were caught driving a pick-up truck with MTN tower batteries in Clanwilliams.
The probe led the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime investigation team based in Cape Town to a farm in Grootfontein where the tower was damaged and batteries stolen.
A Congolese national, Reddy Mbangula, 29, who had also been charged with the Zimbabwean duo was only convicted for contravening the Immigration Act. He was sentenced to 30 days imprisonment or R300 fine.
