Zimbabwean National Gets 15-Year Sentence for Copper Cable Theft and Illegal Immigration in Limpopo

• A Zimbabwean national will serve 15 years in prison after he was caught stealing copper cables at a Limpopo farm
• The Musina Regional Court also convicted the 30-year-old man for being in the country illegally
• In Burgersfort, five people were arrested after they were caught with R350 000 worth of stolen copper cables

MUSINA - A Zimbabwean man who is in the country illegally has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing copper cables from a Limpopo farm and an additional six months for being in South Africa illegally.

Shepard Munorwa, 30, was convicted for tampering with essential infrastructure, theft of copper relating to essential infrastructure and illegal immigration by the Musina Regional Court.

Shepard Munorwa was caught stealing by a private security company

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According to IOL, the Zim national was nabbed by a private security company after he stole the copper cables on a private farm. Munorwa was working with an accomplice, but his co-conspirator managed to escape.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the theft of the electric cables interrupted service delivery.

NPA’s Limpopo spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, explained that the farm had lost around R500 000 because of copper cable theft and decided to hire private security to deal with the problem.

5 People arrested for copper cable theft in Burgersfort

According to the South African Government website, five people aged between 18 and 61 appeared in the Molteno Magistrate’s Court earlier this week.

The accused were arrested after they were caught with suspected stolen goods and copper cables by a private security company called Magnum. The private security guards were informed about a suspicious vehicle in the early hours of 2 March.

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The guards stopped a Nissan bakkie and upon searching the vehicle, they found the copper cables. The assailants were asked why they had copper cables at that hour but did not answer satisfactorily.

It is estimated that the five suspects had copper cables worth R350 000. The Nissan bakkie worth R120 000 was also confiscated.

Copper thieves endanger 24 patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, SA says criminals are “heartless”

Briefly News previously reported that copper cable thieves put the lives of 24 patients at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital at risk after stealing essential piping.

The 10-metre copper pipe supplies oxygen to sections of the main intensive care unit (ICU), leaving patients with lower-than-normal levels. When clinicians noticed the drop in oxygen levels, they reported the matter to the department of infrastructure development.

According to TimesLIVE, the report led to the discovery that the pipe had been tampered with. Diepkloof police are investigating a case.

Source: Briefly News