Church member arrested for alleged illegal power reconnection amid R3 million debt

A woman linked to a Johannesburg inner city church, which owes City Power more than R3 million, has been apprehended after allegedly illegally reconnecting to the power grid.

Last week, the City of Johannesburg’s power utility, City Power, disconnected a church building in Jeppestown, which owes over R3 million in unpaid electricity bills.

The property was one of ten high-debt defaulters in the inner city, with a combined debt of more than R105 million dating back to 2019.

Church reconnected a week later

On Wednesday, City Power returned to the church for an inspection and discovered that the building had been illegally reconnected to the grid.

City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said a man and woman who identified themselves as members of the church board made several claims that a City Power employee reconnected the church.

“The pair claimed that a group of people in City Power uniforms, driving company vehicles, arrived to reconnect the church on Friday, 8 November 2024,” Mangena said.

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He added that the duo also claimed that a R150 000 payment was made to officials at the utility’s Booysens offices. According to them, the payment was made in exchange for the reconnection and as part of an Acknowledgement of Debt (AOD) agreement.

“However, without proof of a signed AOD, a Level-3 disconnection was subsequently carried out at the property, resulting in the removal of critical electrical equipment necessary to restore the building’s power supply,” the spokesperson said.

City Power reported the incident to South African Police Service (SAPS) right away due to the seriousness of the alleged tampering with essential infrastructure.

Tampering with essential infrastructure

The man and woman were taken to the police station in Jeppestown for questioning, where one of them was arrested for their alleged involvement in the illegal reconnection and tampering with City Power’s infrastructure.

Mangena said the utility has launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the illegal reconnection and the alleged payment of R150 000.

“Anyone found responsible will face charges of theft, fraud, and tampering with municipal infrastructure,” he concluded.

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“City Power will not hesitate to take drastic action against any employee implicated in allegations of accepting gratuities in exchange for facilitating the illegal reconnection.”