More than 114 suspects facing charges of vandalizing Eskom’s property and infrastructure belonging to the surrounding mines appeared at Witbank Magistrate’s court on 1 March.
Out of the 114 arrested suspects, only six were granted bail. According to reports, properties worth millions of rands were damaged, stolen, and left residents in areas such as Blinkpan, Koornfontein, Komati Rural, Dorsfontein and Middlekraal without electricity. Recurring vandalism and theft lead to extended unplanned outage in the rural areas supplied by Export and Goedehoop substations in Mpumalanga.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said, “We strongly condemn members of the public from engaging in the destruction of Eskom and surrounding mines. The condemnation comes after acts of lawlessness displayed by some unscrupulous people whereby properties worth millions of rands were damaged, leaving scores of nearby residents without electricity.”
“According to information, a mine at the said place has ceased to operate and a process of rehabilitation had begun. The situation was unfortunately viewed by some unscrupulous criminals as an opportunity to steal and destroy the infrastructure thereof and in the process also damaged an Eskom infrastructure,” Hlathi said.
It is said these individuals reportedly engaged in an act of sabotage where they burnt Eskom transformers so that they could have easy access at the mine and not seen. Their actions resulted in parts of the area experiencing power/electricity outages for several days. Police were notified about the matter and on Friday, 19 February, police went to the site and caught suspects busy stealing copper cables and steel. “Police then acted swiftly and arrested 114 suspects on various charges, including trespassing, possession of suspected stolen properties, contravention of the Disaster Management Regulations by failing to confine to their places of residence, as well as contravention of the Illegal Immigration Acts,” he added.
Eskom’s Collin Reddy said that Eskom has opened a case for the Eskom assets that were vandalized and stolen. “Communities should be aware that tampering with and damaging electricity infrastructure affects the performance of the network and hinders continuous supply of electricity,” Reddy said. Police also seized 20 vehicles believed to have been used in these illegal activities. The investigation is continuing and police cannot rule out possibilities of adding more charges to the suspects with regard to the sabotage and the damaged infrastructure. Six suspects are already granted bail whilst the remaining suspects are expected to apply for bail. The case is postponed to 8 March.
