City Power pulls workers from volatile Westbury after Fast Guns gang boss gunned down

Johannesburg power utility City Power has warned that the eruption of gang violence in Westbury and surrounding areas is affecting service delivery and that it’s concerned about the safety of its employees.

This comes after the 38-year-old leader of the notorious Fast Guns gang Keenen Sheldon Ebrahim was gunned down in an apparent hit in the west of Johannesburg on Thursday.

The situation in Westbury, commonly known as Western, has been described as “volatile” and a “no-go zone” during a shutdown implemented after Ebrahim’s killing.

Gang violence

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the utility has taken note of the incident which has affected service delivery in several areas.

“The alleged violence between two rival drug gangs, reportedly triggered by the killing of one of the kingpins, has left Westbury, Eldorado Park, Claremont and Riverlea as no-go areas.

“It is for this reason that City Power, out of concern for the safety of its personnel, has decided to withdraw its employees and contractors from the affected areas,” Mangena said.

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No outages

Mangena said that there are no outstanding outages in those areas at the moment.

“However, given the impact of load shedding, vandalism and cable theft, amongst others, there are no guarantees that the affected areas will not experience power outages during this volatile period.

“We are currently engaging councillors to come up with contingency measures so as not to leave customers stranded for a prolonged period,” he said.

Law and order

Meanwhile, the CEO of City Power Tshifularo Mashava has called on law enforcement agencies to urgently restore safety in the area.

“We urge the South African Police Service to bring the situation under control in that part of the city. Not only to enable smooth delivery of services, but to protect innocent lives that could be lost if this heightened level of violence continues unabated.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and if things remain the same, we will consider bringing in JMPD to escort our technicians to site in order to carry out critical repair work,” she added.

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