A farmer was arrested after he was found to have been illegally connecting, distributing and selling electricity to communities that have settled on his farming property in the Fochville area.
Image: SAPS
An 80-year-old farmer was arrested when it was discovered that he was illegally linking, disseminating and selling electricity to communities that had moved onto his land in Fochville, in Gauteng.
The NATJOINTS Energy Safety and Security and the South African Police Service (SAPS) are behind this latest takedown operation.
"On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, the Natjoints team led by SAPS, Eskom and Johannesburg City Power arrived on his farm where three transformers, 119 electricity meter boxes and electrical cables used to connect each household were confiscated," said SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.
The elderly suspect appeared in court on Wednesday, December 4, on charges of interfering with important infrastructure costing R90,000, theft of power for R6 million, and theft of meter boxes worth R476,000.
The issue has been rescheduled for Wednesday, December 11, for a formal bail application.
Mathe stated that on a weekly basis, this structure seeks to guarantee that deployments are in place to avoid, battle, and investigate occurrences that might impede the delivery of power through generation, transmission, and distribution.
"The structure sits on a daily basis and monitors all power stations and essential infrastructure throughout the country. It is inclusive of various other government departments including SANDF, SSA, SARS, NPA, AFU and many others," Mathe said.
In a similar case in October, four contractors were charged with electricity theft and meter tampering after allegedly bypassing an electrical meter at a nearby resort in Gauteng.
A member of the public alerted Eskom, and an internal security team, together with police, jumped into action.
Amanda Qithi, Eskom spokesperson in Gauteng, stated that the resort owner reportedly put R10,000 into one of the workers' accounts, which was subsequently split among the rest of the staff.
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