Lungile Ntimba
A Malawian national and a pastor of the Gods Chapel Church has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Pretoria Magistrates Court for tampering with essential infrastructure and 8 years each for 3 counts of R150 000 fraud, with the sentences set to run concurrently.
NPA Regional Spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the pastor – 59-year-old Mlotha Nelson Usale pleaded guilty and offered to pay a R200 000 fine for his crimes but the court declined the offer on Thursday.
State prosecutor Tholoana Sekhonyana argued in court that the offences committed warranted a sentence of direct imprisonment.
“The crimes committed caused network interruptions and cost the network service providers, MTN and Vodacom a lot of money to replace the stolen batteries,” Sekhonyana said.
Sekhonyana also added that people lost a lot of money from buying stolen batteries, thinking they were legitimate.
From 2021 to May 2022, Usale ran a syndicate where he would steal batteries from various network towers of Vodacom and MTN, interchange the battery management system of batteries to different manufacturers, respray the casings of the battery, and sell the batteries to unsuspecting consumers.
This syndicate was discovered after a complainant bought a battery and it did not work, and this resulted in the arrest of two other Malawian nationals in May 2022, who have since been convicted and sentenced to 8 years each, with 53 stolen batteries subsequently being discovered in Midrand.
A warrant of arrest was issued for Usale, however, he tried to skip the country and return to Malawi, but got arrested at the Beitbridge.
Magistrate Boitumelo Chulu concurred with the state that the money used to replace the batteries and fix the damage was substantial and the complainants lost a lot of money. The court also decreed that Usale was not fit to possess a firearm.
He said that in light of Usale’s pleading for a fine but not to reimburse the victims, a direct prison sentence was justifiable.
“Usale was a guest in South Africa, but he abused his welcome, a fine is not an appropriate sentence as it would send a wrong message to society,” Chulu said.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Sibongile Mzinyathi welcomed the sentence and applauded the great work of the investigating officers Thabo Lukhele and Mokibelo Supe of the Gauteng Provincial Organised Crime which led to this conviction and sentencing.
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