Is Vryheid’s infrastructure being sabotaged?

Vryheid was in darkness for a few hours last week after three men allegedly tried to steal cables from a substation in Utrecht Street in broad daylight. Bystanders said they saw the three men fiddling at the box and one of them suddenly ran into the street, visibly in distress. The man had been burned and dropped to the ground; it was later determined that he had been shocked by the high-voltage live wires in the box. KwaZulu Private Ambulance Services attended to his injuries, but he later passed away. One of the men fled, but was apprehended by security officers. The suspect allegedly confessed to the crime. The other suspect was apprehended at the scene. The two were handed over to police and a case of damage to property (to the value of approximately R950,000) as well as a case of attempted murder and possession of tools used in a crime was opened.

A few hours later, more electrical problems occurred. The municipality informed residents that due to a recent surge in vandalism and theft of electrical infrastructure, the town was experiencing ongoing power interruptions and outages. The affected areas included the swimming pool substation, which was completely stripped and burned out; and the switching units in Heeren and East streets (which was the effect of the incident in Utrecht Street). The substation on the corner of Hlobane and West streets (at Mtashana College) also exploded. Residents have been speculating on WhatsApp groups about possible sabotage of the town’s infrastructure.
Residents are urged to report cable theft and vandalism to the municipal call centre’s toll-free number on 080 020 1102.

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The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.