Telecoms transmitter mast. (Photo: tagphoto / iStock) | Evening sky. (Photo: Rafal Bartoszczyk / Unsplash) 
While attacks on cellphone towers have slowed, cellphone network provider MTN says the toll of vandalism on towers still runs into hundreds of millions of rands.
MTN said that while the theft of cellphone batteries, sold by criminals to people wanting power for their homes, has dropped significantly, continued damage to towers and theft of batteries cost the company R450-million last year.
“The theft of cellphone batteries remains rife and most prevalent in the Eastern Cape, with the province leading with 346 battery theft incidents in 2024,” a company statement said after the successful conviction and sentencing in the Gqeberha New Law Court of a group of men who conducted a series of raids on cellphone towers in 2019.
Read more: MTN pours billions more into network to boost resilience to Eskom’s rolling blackouts
A Vodacom statement issued in April said that the vandalism and theft of cellphone tower batteries cost it R100-million a year.
Alphios Masangu (38), a Mozambican national, Lazarus Makhubela (38) from Soweto in Gauteng, and Dion Munyani (37) from Krugersdorp were found guilty on charges of damage to essential infrastructure, housebreaking and theft. Arrested suspect, Mozambican Salvador Macuala, died in custody.
Hawks spokesperson Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana said the men were involved in an extensive cross-border criminal enterprise that targeted essential national infrastructure. The men looted cellphone network towers across four provinces. In this case, they were tried, found guilty and sentenced for a robbery in KwaZulu-Natal and attacks on cellphone towers in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape. Mhlakuvana, however, said they were also linked to vandalism of cellphone towers in the Free State.
They have been in custody since 2019.
MTN welcomes sentence
MTN South Africa, whose towers bore the brunt of the men’s crime spree, said in a response to questions that the company welcomed the sentencing.
“This decisive ruling sends a strong and clear message that such acts of sabotage against national infrastructure will not be tolerated. Crimes of this nature not only undermine the efforts of network providers to deliver reliable connectivity across the country but also place the lives of South Africans at risk. Connectivity is an essential service; it enables people to call for help in emergencies, conduct business and stay connected to loved ones.
“While incidents of battery theft and network vandalism have declined over the years thanks to joint efforts between law enforcement agencies and the industry, these crimes continue to impact network quality and disrupt essential communication services,” the statement said.
“MTN commends the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation and all partners involved for their commitment to protecting the country’s critical communications infrastructure,” the company concluded.
Attacks on the cellphone provider’s network were so severe that an MTN statement at the time said that the damage to towers and infrastructure far exceeded the cost of repairing and replacing batteries and equipment.
MTN’s 2019 data showed that as many as 89 cellphone towers across the country were put on hold, while 53 base stations in Gauteng were destroyed.
“The criminals strategically dismantled and stole high-capacity communication tower batteries, resulting in a disruption of critical network operations across the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape,” Mhlakuvana said.
To add to cellular service outages caused by the theft of batteries, the country at the time was also in the grip of extensive load shedding that led to frequent outages of the cellphone network.
Read more: Consumers suffer as load shedding affects cellphone signal
Crime spree
According to court documents, the men’s crime spree began with the hijacking of a Ford Ranger bakkie in Overport, Durban, in early March 2019, as well as the robbery of R30,000, a laptop and a cellphone belonging to the owner of the bakkie.
Four men, including Thovhakale, then set off on the crime spree, looting several towers over four provinces.
The bulk of the thefts happened in the Eastern Cape and included an attack on the Telkom Tower in Humansdorp between 8 and 11 March 2019, where 12 batteries worth R50,000 were stolen.
From 14 to 17 March, the men first attacked the MTN Tower in Blue Horizon Bay, Nelson Mandela Bay, where they stole three lithium batteries worth R90,000. From 23 March, they were in East London – first attacking the tower in Vincent, stealing batteries worth R67,200 and then another three lithium batteries from the MTN tower in Mdantsane, worth R90,000.
On 1 April, the men stole four batteries worth R100,000 from the tower at the Alexandria Chicory Factory. Between 5 and 17 April, the men stole batteries from the MTN tower in Cover Rock, East London.
Between 5 and 9 April 2019, they travelled to Nelson Mandela Bay, where they stole batteries from the tower in Kabega Park.
They then returned to East London, where they stole eight batteries worth R80,000 from the airport tower.
From 13 April 2019, the men travelled to the Western Cape, where they first attacked the tower in Sedgefield, looting batteries worth R100,000. On 16 April, they hit the tower in George, taking eight batteries worth R200,000. On 17 April, they struck in Uniondale, where they took 24 batteries worth R90,000. On 19 April, they raided the tower in Mossel Bay where they stole another 22 batteries.
The men were arrested in Riversdale on 12 May 2019 when the hijacked Ford Ranger was pulled over. Twenty batteries worth R84,000 and master keys of a cellphone tower were found in their possession.
A red Volkswagen Golf GTI was also identified as a vehicle used in the crimes. DM