A 42-year-old man from Lesotho, Khothatso Adora, has been sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of tampering with and stealing copper cable belonging to the City of Ekurhuleni in Brakpan.

Adora was arrested on March 24, 2023, after he was caught digging up and stealing roughly four meters of copper cable.

He first appeared in court on June 6, 2023, and on July 1, 2024, he pleaded not guilty to charges of tampering with essential infrastructure and theft of essential infrastructure, but guilty to a third charge of illegal immigration.

On September 10, 2024, the court found him guilty on all three counts. He was sentenced to:

• Eight years for tampering with essential infrastructure.
• Eight years for theft of essential infrastructure (to run concurrently with the first sentence).
• One year for illegal immigration.

This brought his effective sentence to nine years in prison. The court also ordered that, once Adora has served his sentence, he will be deported back to Lesotho.

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