Sam Smago, 36, and Clement Pafiwa, 35, were each sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for damage to railway lines in Graskop, Mpumalanga regional court.
The sentence was suspended for four years.
According to Capt. Hawks spokesperson Dineo Sekgotodi they have both been sentenced to 12 months in prison for being in the country illegally. It is not known from which country they are originally from.
“The sentences will be served concurrently,” she says.
Brig. Obed Ngwenya, acting provincial Hawks chief, congratulated the investigative teams on the successful prosecution and gave the assurance that “offenders will be prosecuted”.
Members of the Hawks’ organized crime unit arrested Smago and Pafiwa in February 2019 after metal bars from train tracks were found in their possession.
