East London: The East London Regional Court has sentenced June Kholekile Gqomfa, aged 51, to four years of direct imprisonment for charges related to damage to essential infrastructure, theft of tower batteries, and possession of stolen goods. Gqomfa’s arrest was the result of a collaborative operation involving Queenstown Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Queenstown K9 members in August 2021. Since his arrest, Gqomfa has been held in custody.
According to South African Police Service, the incident unfolded on 2 August 2021, when the joint team received a tip-off regarding a suspicious white Isuzu bakkie traveling between East London and Queenstown on the N6 highway. The vehicle was reportedly transporting Telkom tower batteries. Acting on this information, the team initiated a stop-and-search operation to intercept the vehicle. Upon attempting to stop the vehicle, the driver fled, leading to a pursuit towards R61 in the direction of Cofimvaba. The joint team successfully intercepted and halted the vehicle near Bridge Camp in Cofimvaba. A search of the vehicle revealed various types of tower batteries in its rear, which were subsequently seized.
Preliminary investigations confirmed that the tower batteries had been stolen from different locations around East London. Gqomfa, identified as the driver of the Isuzu bakkie, was arrested at the scene. He was charged with damage to essential infrastructure and possession of stolen tower batteries. Gqomfa appeared in court the day after his arrest, where he was remanded in custody.
Despite multiple court appearances seeking bail, Gqomfa’s applications were unsuccessful. The cases of damage to essential infrastructure associated with Gqomfa were consolidated, leading to his sentencing by the East London Regional Court on 13 March 2025. In addition to the four-year imprisonment, Gqomfa was declared unfit to possess a firearm.