A 38-year-old Lesotho national has been sentenced to 10 years’ direct imprisonment after he was caught digging up and cutting railway cables along a rail line near Kimberley in the Northern Cape.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane, the Kimberley Regional Court convicted and sentenced Sello Mokose for damaging essential infrastructure after he was apprehended along the N12 between Warrenton and Kimberley.
Senokoatsane said Mokose was also sentenced to six months imprisonment for contravening the Immigration Act after authorities discovered that he was in the country illegally.
The conviction stems from an incident on May 27, 2025, when the Railway Police Unit received information from Transnet security officers about suspects digging up cables along the railway line between Warrenton and Kimberley.
Senokoatsane said police, assisted by a drone pilot, rushed to the scene where they encountered a group of suspects who fled in different directions.
“Mokose was apprehended at the scene while the others managed to escape,” Senokoatsane said.
Further investigations by Transnet Freight Rail protection officials revealed that about 60 metres of railway cable had already been dug up and cut.
Faced with the evidence against him, Mokose elected to plead guilty to both charges and was convicted as charged.
During sentencing proceedings, the State called a leading protection official from Transnet Freight Rail Security to testify about the impact of infrastructure tampering.
Senokoatsane said the official told the court about “the severe consequences of tampering with railway infrastructure”, highlighting “the devastating impact that cable theft and infrastructure tampering have on rail operations, economic activity, and the livelihoods of employees who depend on the rail network.”
In aggravation of sentence, Senokoatsane said the State argued that crimes involving essential infrastructure have far-reaching consequences beyond Transnet and negatively affect the broader economy and therefore requested the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years’ direct imprisonment.
However, the court deviated from the prescribed sentence and imposed a 10 years’ direct imprisonment for damaging essential infrastructure and six months’ imprisonment for contravening the Immigration Act.
“The court further declared Mokose unfit to possess a firearm and ordered that he be deported to Lesotho upon completion of his sentence,” Senokoatsane said.
Senokoatsane said the NPA in the Northern Cape maintains that crimes targeting essential infrastructure continue to cripple key sectors of the South African economy.
“Infrastructure such as railway networks plays a vital role in economic growth, job creation, and the movement of goods across the country,” he said.
“These crimes undermine service delivery and deprive communities of essential services.”
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