EFF Member Suspected of Threatening Eskom COO With Bomb Granted Bail, SA Split: “Should Be Treated As Treason”

• The man arrested for allegedly threatening Eskom's COO with a bomb was released on bail by the court
• The suspect is reported to be an EFF member and threatened Jan Oberholzer because of unfairness in the hiring process at Eskom
• SA was split on social media about the unfolding story, and some said he should be charged with treason

MPUMALANGA - Thapelo Mnisi, accused of threatening Eskom's COO, Jan Oberholzer, with a bomb, was granted bail by the Magistrate's Court in Witbank.

According to IOL, the 27-year-old has been identified as the chairperson of the Witbank Economic Freedom Fighters' (EFF) branch.

The man from KwaGuqa was released on Monday for allegedly sending a threatening bomb attack SMS earlier this year in May.

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Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase, the Hawks spokesperson, said that the EFF member was disgruntled because of Eskom's nepotism. When he lodged a complaint to the company, he didn't get any feedback and then decided to threaten Oberholzer, reported TimesLIVE.

“He was part of a group of people from KwaGuqa who were trained as boilermakers at Kusile power station by a company contracted to Eskom. The group was allegedly promised to be absorbed through permanent employment opportunities in the organisation. However, upon qualifying as boilermakers, they were only called to work on a casual basis."

The police arrested Mnisi on 18 November, and he was charged with the South African Explosives Act 15 of 2003.

South Africans reacted to the developing story on social media. Below are a few comments:

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@MzolileN wrote:

"No stress, his job of finishing Eskom is almost done."

@tebogokhaas said:

"They respond to inflammatory messaging from their leaders just as Floyd encourages illegal connections to the electricity grid."

@EllisMaytham mentioned:

"He was fighting white monopoly capital."

@Jonnoxx2 stated:

"No person issuing bomb threats should be released on bail. Ever!"

@NyehlaneM tweeted:

"Wow, it is because of dodgy tenders in Eskom. Reveal those dodgy tenders, please COO."

Nazeer Slaughter said:

"He is supposed to be charged under the terrorism act, but he is not."

Annette Gouws wrote:

"Bomb threats should be treated as treason with no bail."

SA Reacts to Bomb Threats Directed at Eskom’s COO: “We Don’t Care, We Want Electricity”

Briefly News, reported A man was arrested on Friday in Mpumalanga for threatening Jan Oberholzer, the Chief Operating Officer of Eskom (COO), with a bomb.

Eskom released a statement on Saturday saying the threat was made in May 2022 from an unknown phone number.

Source: Briefly News