Pastor jailed for 10 years over network tower battery theft syndicate

A Malawian pastor, who ran a syndicate of stealing batteries from network towers and resold them, has been sentenced for tampering with essential infrastructure and fraud.

A pastor of Gods Chappel Church, Mlotha Nelson Usale, 59, ran a syndicate where he would steal batteries from various Vodacom and MTN network towers across the country.

He would swop out the battery management system for batteries made by other manufacturers and then repaint the battery casings.

Pastor sold batteries to unsuspecting customers

This was done to hide the true origins of batteries and make them look like they were commercial solar batteries. 

After that, the pastor would advertise on social media sites under the names SOLAR MART and SUN SHOP in order to sell the batteries to unsuspecting customers and deliver them using e-hailing services.

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“This syndicate was discovered after a complainant bought a battery and it did not work.

“The complainant then showed the battery to his friend, who told him that the battery was a network battery,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.

The complainant reported the matter to the police, who in turn set a trap.

The trap led to the arrest of two other Malawian nationals on 5 May 2022, who have since been convicted and sentenced to eight years imprisonment each on 11 July 2023.

53 batteries found in storage facility

Mahanjana said the arrested suspects led the police to a storage facility in Midrand, where they kept the stolen batteries. The police found 53 batteries there.

Thereafter, the two took the police to the places where they sold the batteries.

After the arrest of the pair, a warrant of arrest was issued for the pastor; however, he skipped the country and returned to Malawi.

ALSO READ: Asset forfeiture order granted in MTN and Vodacom’s stolen cellphone tower batteries case

He was eventually arrested on 25 January 2024 at the Beitbridge border, attempting to flee the country again.

Mahanjana said in court that the pastor pleaded guilty to the charges and offered to pay a fine of R200 000 for the offences. 

“However, the prosecutor, Advocate Tholoana Sekhonyana, refused the offer and argued that the offences committed warranted a sentence of direct imprisonment,” she said.

Crimes cost network providers

“Moreover, the crimes committed caused network interruptions and cost the network service providers, MTN and Vodacom, a lot of money to replace the stolen batteries.”

Sekhonyana also argued that the people who bought the batteries lost a lot of money because the stolen batteries had since been confiscated.

ALSO READ: Battery theft threatens MTN’s network coverage

Therefore, the only appropriate sentence was that of direct imprisonment.

When handing down the sentence, Magistrate Chulu agreed that the money used to replace the batteries and fix the damage was substantial and the complainants lost a great deal of money.

The magistrate also said Usale wanted to escape prison and lacked consideration for the victims because he asked to pay a fine and not reimburse the victims. 

‘He abused his welcome’

“Usale was a guest in South Africa, but he abused his welcome,” the magistrate said.

The Pretoria Magistrates’ Court sentenced Usale to 10 years direct imprisonment for tampering with essential infrastructure and eight years each for three counts of fraud worth R150 000. 

ALSO READ: Alleged cell tower battery thief killed

The court ordered the sentences should run concurrently with that of 10 years. Usale was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.