ZIMBABWEAN MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS FOR TAMPERING WITH ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
The Musina Regional Court has convicted and sentenced a Zimbabwean national, Shepard Munorwa (30), to 15 years imprisonment for tampering with essential infrastructure, theft of copper relating to essential infrastructure and illegal immigration. On 28 April 2022, the accused and his accomplice stole electric cables which interrupted basic service delivery on a private farm and they were caught by security company, however, the accomplice managed to escape from the scene.
During the trial, the accused pleaded not guilty to the offences. In aggravation of sentence, the state prosecutor Jan Krijt submitted that the country is currently experiencing unprecedented levels of cable theft and the owner of the farm has suffered a loss of R500 000.00 in the past years as a result to cable theft and he even appointed a security company. The Prosecutor further submitted that there are no substantial or compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence. Therefore, the court has sentenced Shepard Munorwa to 15 years imprisonment for tampering with essential infrastructure, 15 years for theft of copper relating to essential infrastructure and six months for illegal immigration, the court ordered the sentence in count one, two and three to run concurrently. They further declared the accused unfit to possess a firearm.
The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence and applauds the good work of Prosecutor Jan Krijt and the investigator, Sergeant Singo of Musina Detectives. We hope that the would-be offenders of these crimes will learn from the sentence.
