Eskom: 48 People Arrested at Power Utility for Various Crimes Since SANDF Deployment

• Eskom announced that a total of 48 people were arrested for various criminal activities at its ailing power stations
• The arrests came after the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was deployed to Eskom in December
• Outgoing Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said that the SAPS and SANDF are putting in a lot of effort to deal with the issue

MPUMALANGA - A total of 48 people have been arrested for various criminal activities at Eskom’s power stations.

The arrests come after members of the SANDF were deployed to deal with theft and sabotage at the state-owned entity.

The soldiers were allocated to the utility in December. According to EWN, Mpumalanga was identified as a hotspot for coal theft.

A significant increase in fraud and corruption have also been noticed at the power utility. These issues, along with the theft of coal and infrastructure damage, have been found to be conducted allegedly by employees and contractors.

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During a media briefing held on Monday, 20 February, outgoing Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said the syndicate heads need to be uncovered, IOL reported.

He welcomed the work done by law enforcement officials and said Eskom is not as “vulnerable” as it previously was before. De Ruyter added that the SAPS and SANDF are putting in a lot of effort to deal with Eskom’s issues.

Mzansi reacts to the SANDF’s work at Eskom

@Brettbenraphael said:

“48. Wow. Big number that, hey.”

@alain_craven_sa posted:

“48. Wow. Well done. How many are charged and convicted and behind bars? I will hazard a guess: 0.”

@MADBIKER17 commented:

“Since when did the military police civilians - used to be only when martial law was declared?”

@TheMor9 wrote:

“With all that, they still increase power cuts that give criminals more time and chances to steal more of our infrastructure. I sense this is all planned to frustrate South African communities.”

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@AshtinJW added:

“Imagine the army didn’t have to do the police’s job.”

Mzansi wants justice after Mpumalanga woman arrested for colluding to defraud Eskom of R1M: “Prison for life”

Briefly News also reported that South Africans want an Mpumalanga woman brought to book after she colluded with Eskom employees to steal almost R1 million from Tutuka Power Station.

Annemarie Stander was arrested by the Hawks after an investigation dating back to 2021 revealed that the power station made an order to Umnandi Conference and Catering for the purchase and delivery of two containers.

The company invoiced Eskom for R939 550 but didn’t purchase or deliver the containers, EWN reported.

Source: Briefly News