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Courts slap long sentences on Transnet infrastructure thieves

Courts slap long sentences on Transnet infrastructure thieves
Neesa Moodley
By Neesa Moodley
1 Sep 2024
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Infrastructure thieves causing service delivery breakdowns face punitive action as courts are now imposing the full might of the law.

Zimbabwean Shedi Mhlanga was sentenced to 35 years in jail by the Pretoria Regional Court last week for tampering with essential Transnet infrastructure, theft of fuel and possession of stolen property.

He faced three counts:


  • Tampering with essential infrastructure – 20 years’ imprisonment

  • Theft of fuel – 10 years (to run concurrently with the 20-year sentence); and

  • Possession of stolen property (fuel tanker).


The sentences will run concurrently, which translates to 20 years’ imprisonment.

The case dates to 31 December 2022 when the Transnet pipelines network operations centre detected a significant pressure drop on the Kendal-to-Waltloo pipeline at about 1.55am. Security teams then identified a suspicious-looking fuel tanker near a known hotspot in the Boschkop area. Mhlanga tried to flee by abandoning the moving vehicle and escaping into nearby bushes, but was apprehended by security.

Investigations revealed that an illegal fitting had been welded into the pipeline, facilitating the theft of almost 34,000 litres of petrol. The stolen fuel was recovered and confirmed to match that from the pipeline. 

Mhlanga was found guilty on all charges in July 2024. 

Transnet Pipelines chief executive Sibongiseni Khathi said the verdict sends a clear message that tampering with critical infrastructure and stealing the nation’s resources are grave offences that will not go unpunished. 

“The sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime and its impact on both the economy and society. We are proud of the swift and effective response from our security teams and the collaboration with law enforcement that led to this outcome,” he said.

481 crime incidents in July


In a separate case, earlier in August, Charlie van Dyk, Elandre Senekal, Michelle van Straaten and Kwakhanya Bolowana were convicted on charges of housebreaking, damaging essential infrastructure and theft. These relate to theft at the Scalen railway station in Nxuba (formerly Cradock) in March 2023, when four batteries, transformers and cables valued at R57,000 were stolen. 

They were sentenced to five years for housebreaking, 15 for damage to essential infrastructure, and 15 for theft. Senekal and Van Straaten were jailed for an effective 20 years, while Van Dyk and Bolowana will serve 30 years.

Transnet’s Freight Rail acting general manager of security and forensic, Shawn Johnson, told Africa Ports and Ships maritime news that security-related incidents on the Transnet Freight Rail network continue to have a crippling impact on operations, leading to train delays, cancellations and tonnage losses.

“Criminal syndicates attack the rail network, targeting essential rail infrastructure by damaging, tempering, vandalising and disrupting rail operations,” Johnson said, adding that in July alone there were 481 criminal-related incidents on the network, including cable theft and vandalism. DM

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