The Lusaka High Court has sentenced to jail two Zambian men convicted of vandalising the Zambia Telecommunication Company (Zamtel) infrastructure.

The two men have been sentenced to three and four years in jail respectively after they pleaded guilty to vandalising the Zamtel infrastructure last year.

The sentences have been viewed as too harsh but the court is hoping that the sentences will act as deterrent to vandalism of communication infrastructure that is on the rise in the country.

One of the suspects was found with 2.5 metres of telephone cables valued at over $130.

Zamtel corporate communications manager Kennedy Mambwe said one of the suspects Joshua Kafita was found digging up Zamtel cables in Lusaka before he was arrested by Zamtel patrol team.

“The two men have been sentenced to three and four years imprisonment respectively with hard labour after they both pleaded guilty to vandalism related charges against Zamtel infrastructure,” Mambwe said.

Last year, vandals store over 370 metre of Zamtel cables valued at over $2 million causing interruption of services that lasted for over two days before services were restored.

The company is currently replacing copper cables with optic fibre cables around the country in a bid to curb vandalism of its cables.