40 litres of diesel and rejected R5000 bribe put Eskom contractors in cuffs

Three employees working for Eskom on a contracted basis were arrested for theft on 23 July.

The trio are alleged to have siphoned off diesel from Eskom equipment at a site outside eMalahleni, in Mpumalanga.

After being charged at the Phola Police Station, the accused appeared in the Phola Magistarte’s Court on Thursday,25 July, and will return to court on 4 September.

Failed to bribe supervisor

One of the accused, an excavator operator, phoned his supervisor shortly before midday requesting to leave work early for an undisclosed reason.  

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Unknown to the operator, his supervisor decided to check his station while conducting his inspection rounds.

The supervisor found the operator with two other men, who claimed to be mechanics working on repairs to the excavator.

“It was discovered that approximately 40 litres of diesel were drained into two 20-litre containers,” confirmed Eskom’s media team, valuing the fuel at R1000.

“The suspects tried to offer the supervisor a bribe of R5 000 if he did not report the crime, which he refused,” stated Eskom.

R500 bail for accused

After their arrest and subsequent court appearance, the three men were released on R500 bail each.   

The supervisor was commended by his employers, adding that they had seen an increase in the number of arrests during the first quarter of their 2024/25 financial year.  

“Eskom strongly condemns any criminal activity within its operations and will not tolerate such behaviour,” said Botse Sikhwitshi, Eskom’s acting general manager for security.

Alleged ‘construction mafia’ orchestrator arrested

In a separate incident, an undercover operation in Klerksdorp secured the arrest of a former ward councillor and motivational speaker on 23 July.

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The man is one of two who is alleged to have intimidated a contractor into abandoning a work site until a R50,000 protection fee was paid.

The accused appeared in the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court and he has been remanded in custody until his bail application on 27 August.