Ga-Rankuwa Man Caught Stealing Eskom Copper Cables Gets 10 Years in Jail, Mzansi Wants Harsher Sentence

• A man from Ga-Rankuwa has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, with five years suspended, for stealing copper cables from an Eskom site
• Ofentse Kau pleaded guilty to the theft after he was caught on surveillance camera with 400 metres of copper cables
• South Africans believe he received an undeservedly light sentence and want copper cable thieves to be treated more harshly by the law

PRETORIA - A Ga-Rankuwa man who was caught on camera stealing copper cables from Eskom will spend 10 years in prison for his crimes.

Copper cable thief pleads guilty

Ofentse Kau, 36, was handed a 15-year sentence by the Ga-Rankuwa Magistrates Court in Pretoria after pleading guilty to the crime.

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According to TimesLIVE, in 2022, Kau was caught on a surveillance camera carrying 400 metres of commercial copper cables at the Eskom site in Ga-Rankuwa meant for replacement. A security guard confronted Kau and handed him over to the police.

He has been in prison since his arrest because he was denied bail. IOL reported that Kau will only spend 10 years in jail because five years were wholly suspended.

South Africans think the sentence is too short

Raveen Singh said:

"Close down all scrapyards and ban the sale of scrap metal. The root cause is the proliferation of scrapyards everywhere, which encourages people to acts of vandalism by offering them cash for stolen goods or contraband. The government should completely eradicate the sale of scrap metal since most of the items that are sold there belong to the state."

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Sinhlatii Munhu said:

"15 years only?! This type of crime should be highly regarded by our courts due to the massive damage and loss encountered by the disruptions of power failure experienced by both civilians and companies."

Phillip Molefi Gwangwa commented:

"Good job from the state. A least something is been done to change the mentality of criminals."

Sipho Chuma said:

"He will be outside next month, I don't trust our judiciary system."

Skhumbuzo Mthembu said:

"Sentences of infrastructure vandalism must be higher now."

Brian Thobani commented:

"Supposed to be 51, not 15, so it will come to an end."

Copper thieves endanger 24 patients at Chris Hani Baragwanath

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.

Source: Briefly News