Evander court sentences fuel thief to 10 years
The recovered petrol was valued at R1.069 million after security teams intercepted the tanker near the N17.
EVANDER – Herold Mabunda has been sentenced to an effective 10 years’ imprisonment for tampering with critical pipeline infrastructure and stealing approximately 40 000 litres of petrol from Transnet Pipelines (TPL).
The Evander Regional Court sentenced Mabunda on September 9 after he was found guilty on all counts in January.
The case dates to July 2 2022, when TPL’s control centre detected a pressure drop on the Secunda–Kendal pipeline.
Security teams from Bidvest Protea Coin investigated and identified a fuel tanker and accompanying vehicle travelling from the affected area.
Security personnel followed the tanker towards the N17.
When security personnel attempted to stop it, the driver tried to evade them.
The driver and a passenger abandoned the tanker and attempted to flee before being apprehended.
Investigators established that about 40 000 litres of unleaded petrol, valued at R1.069m, had been stolen. Investigators recovered the full volume and returned it to TPL.
Mabunda received concurrent sentences of 10 years for tampering with essential infrastructure, 10 years for fuel theft and one year for transporting dangerous goods without the required licence or permit.
His co-accused, Bongani Mzizi, previously pleaded guilty and received an effective seven-year prison sentence in June 2023.
About Transnet pipelines
Transnet Pipelines, an operating division of Transnet SOC Ltd, owns, manages and controls South
Africa’s network of 3 114km of high-pressure petroleum and gas pipelines in South Africa. Transnet maintains and operates the largest multi-product pipeline in Southern Africa, with their primary strategic mandate being to ensure security of supply for the inland market using environmentally responsible methods while ensuring optimum efficiencies. On average, they transport 16b litres of product per annum, which includes crude oil, diesel, petrol, jet fuel and methane-rich gas through their network. Their network commences in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and traverses five provinces, i.e. KZN, Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West.
