Staff Reporter.
A 43-year-old former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) employee has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Scottburgh Regional Court for cable theft.
Sphiwe Mngadi was convicted for tampering with or destroying essential infrastructure in the eMkhomazi area in April 2018.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has welcomed the sentencing.
“The security guards spotted him on our railway reserve in a PRASA marked vehicle. When the security guards noticed that the copper cables were removed they confronted him, “PRASA said on Wednesday.
The court found him guilty of tampering/destroying of essential infrastructure in the Mkhomazi area.
“Though the sentence is below the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, it does send a strong message to some of our rogue employees who think they can continue stealing critical rail infrastructure unabated with no consequences.
“Indeed the tide is turning against cable theft. To date, 454 suspects have been arrested for vandalism and theft, a total of 118 court cases have been finalised amounting to a combined 764 years’ imprisonment,” PRASA said.
The agency commended the work of the National Prosecution Authority (NPA), the prosecution team and the South African Police Service (SAPS) investigation team for the successful conviction.
“We welcome the NPA’s commitment to put more focus on copper cable theft given the critical role that passenger rail plays in our economy. Only a partnership between our law enforcement agencies will we be able to fight cable theft.
“PRASA would like to also commend the security guards for reporting this crime and testifying in court to ensure that the perpetrator is brought to book. PRASA does not condone any acts of criminality within the organisation and we have strengthened our internal processes and investigations to root out employees who are hampering and sabotaging the business,” the agency said.
Meanwhile PRASA has announced the resumption of services between Durban and Merebank after the service was suspended due to the impact of the floods that damaged rail infrastructure.
A limited service using diesel traction was reintroduced on Wednesday morning.
The recovery of these lines forms part of our efforts to recover more services that were suspended either due to vandalism and theft or the floods that hit KwaZulu-Natal recently.
“The lines on the North-coast corridor, owned and maintained by Transnet, have been rehabilitated and restored by Transnet for the reintroduction of services,” PRASA said.
The work done to recover services includes repairing and installation of rail infrastructure, and the removal of rubble following the floods.