Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has welcomed the conviction and sentencing of four people who were arrested after stealing and damaging its essential infrastructure, seriously affecting rail operations.
Charlie van Dyk, 43, Elandre Senekal, 29, Michelle van Straaten, 23, and Kwakhanya Bolowana, 28, were convicted on charges of housebreaking, damaging essential infrastructure and theft in the Nxuma Magistate’s Court in the Eastern Cape on Monday. They were sentenced to a collective 50 years in prison.
This comes after the gang targeted the Scalen Rail Station on Mortimer Road in Nxuba in March 2023, and stole four batteries, transformers, and cables, valued at R57 000.
The four men received five years for housebreaking and 15 years for damage to essential infrastructure, and 15 years for theft. Senekal and Van Straaten were jailed for an effective 20 years, while Van Dyk and Bolowana will serve 30 years.
TFR Acting General Manager Security and Forensic, Shawn Johnson welcomed the conviction and sentencing.
“Security-related incidents on our rail network continue to have a crippling impact on our operations, leading to train delays, cancellations, and tonnage losses,” said Johnson.
“Criminal syndicates attack the rail network, targeting essential rail infrastructure by damaging, tempering?? tampering with?, vandalising, and disrupting rail operations.”
He said there had been 481 criminal-related incidents, including cable theft and vandalism, on the rail network in July alone this year.
“The TFR security department continues to collaborate with law-enforcement agencies, customers, and other state-owned companies to address the ongoing criminal attacks on the rail networks,” said Johnson.
