Cable thieves should be charged with treason in South Africa

• Cable thieves who destroy critical public infrastructure in South Africa should be charged with treason for costing the economy billions of rands every year.
• The police seized an estimated 1.8 tonnes of copper cables from foreign nationals who allegedly offered a R100,000 bribe to secure their release.
• The confiscation of 12 tonnes of illegal electrical cables from an informal settlement in Roodepoort is expected to reduce the risk of electrical fires, electrocution, and repeated power outages among the poorest South Africans.