Telkom claims it is making progress in the battle against cable theft, resulting in hundreds of convictions over the past six years. The company’s Security and Investigation Team collaborated with the South African Police Service (SAPS) leading to convictions for cable theft and infrastructure vandalism across the country.
Such efforts are part of the Telkom Group Security Strategy, aimed to ensure effective security governance and proactive security risk management within the organization, says the company.
A statement reveals that tips from the community to police and Telkom’s reporting hotlines have played a vital role. This joint effort has significantly reduced infrastructure-related crimes at Telkom facilities.
Sepadi Nkadimeng, Executive: Corporate Security at Telkom, said;
Our partnerships made it possible to achieve great results, helping to turn the tide against crime.
Many arrests have been made, but most importantly, we’ve supported the process of driving cases through the courts to get positive convictions.
Between July 2017 and December 2023, a total of 3,003 suspects were successfully apprehended. This led to the successful conviction of 523 individuals, resulting in collective sentences amounting to 2,594 years of imprisonment.
In addition to these convictions, warrants of arrest have been issued against a further 311 accused persons, while 1,126 individuals are currently awaiting trial.
The total economic damage incurred due to copper theft, as estimated by the Economic Sabotage of Critical Infrastructure Forum – a collaborative working group between Telkom, Eskom, Prasa, and Transnet, is R7 billion annually. Considering the broader economic impact, the cost escalates to nearly R187 billion.
It costs Telkom tens of millions of rand every year to replace stolen or vandalised cables, as well as batteries stolen from cellphone towers. On top of this, Telkom budgets even larger amounts for security to protect its assets.
South Africa’s courts have taken a zero-tolerance approach to cable theft and infrastructure vandalism. Extremely tough jail sentences have been imposed on convicted offenders.
Telkom
Between July 2017 and December 2023, cases were filed against 2,549 individuals. Telkom worked jointly with significant stakeholders within and outside the company to monitor these cases. This included assisting the National Prosecuting Authority in each one. Telkom’s team of investigators has been instrumental in attending every court appearance, testifying and providing necessary evidence, as the telecommunications firm noted.
In 2023, one of the most notable sentences took place in the Western Cape, where SAPS, Telkom, and the community jointly dismantled a syndicate. This group was criminally implicated in theft, racketeering, and money laundering offenses, as stated by Telkom.
The legal process led to the successful conviction of all five accused syndicate members. They received prison terms ranging from 18 to 83 years, totaling a combined sentence of 210 years.
We are extremely proud of the results that have been achieved.
These successes show the key to winning the fight against infrastructure theft and vandalism is collaboration with the community and across industries. We must work together to beat crime.
Sepadi Nkadimeng
