‘Cyanide poisoning’: Eskom CEO André De Ruyter opens attempted murder case

Outgoing Eskom chief executive officer (CEO) André de Ruyter has opened a case of attempted murder, according to reports.

De Ruyter registered the case on Thursday, 5 January.

“The case can be assumed to be under investigation,” he told energy expert Chris Yelland.

According to EE Business Intelligence, De Ruyter fell sick after his cup of coffee was laced with cyanide at his Megawatt Park office in Sunninghill, Johannesburg.

ALSO READ: André de Ruyter under investigation for ‘irregularity’ at Eskom

After tests were conducted, it was confirmed that De Ruyter got cyanide poisoning, and was subsequently treated by a doctor.

The incident took place on 13 December last year, which was a day after De Ruyter resigned as Eskom CEO.

News about De Ruyter’s resignation was publicly confirmed on 14 December.

His last day at Eskom will be 31 March 2023.

Bug found

The incident following the bugging of De Ruyter’s car last year.

In October, Eskom confirmed that a sophisticated bug was found under the driver’s seat when Ruyter was cleaning his vehicle.

READ MORE: Experts fear De Ruyter has become the target of criminal networks

Although a security researcher dismissed the “sophisticated NSA-level” bug as nothing “particularly intricate nor something advanced nation-state clandestine services would use”.

“Honestly, it looks like a gate remote,” Co-author of the OWASP Application Security Verification Standard and Blackhat review board member Daniel Cuthbert told tech publication My Broadband.

The Citizen’s efforts to reach the police by phone for comment were unsuccessful.