STAFF at a business in Uvongo listened in horror as a man screamed for his life when he made contact with illegal power cables in Masinenge last Thursday.
Employee Thomas Malefana heard a man pleading for help at about 9pm.
“When I heard his cry, I ran to my colleagues for assistance. However, we knew that there were illegal electrical cables in the area and it was too risky for us to go in search of him. A few minutes later all was silent,” he said.
The next morning Mr Malefana and staff from Wolf Security began a search in the bush which revealed a man lying dead in the grass. A cable was clasped in his left hand.
It is believed the man died while attempting to illegally connect the cable to a nearby transformer.
Police spokesman, Captain Gerald Mfeka said police are still working on identifying the man. An inquest docket is being investigated by Margate SAPS.
Two dogs were electrocuted in this exact area in January this year.
Staff at the business premises told the Herald that illegal electricity connections occurred all the time. “Once it is removed it is replaced within a day or two,” said Rianda Pretorius. “We have also had two of our staff members fall victim,” she said.
Last Friday Eskom staff had to switch off the electricity in the area and remove most of the illegal cables to make it safe to recover the body.
Illegal connections are common around the Masinenge informal settlement and Mkholombe near Bhobhoyi, and they have been going on for years.
Last year, Johan Louis van Wyk (58) was electrocuted in Margate, after stepping on an illegal electrical wire connection near Masinenge .
Also last year, Eskom and the police ripped up 300 metres of electricity cable that was found spanning the toll road from Uvongo to the Masingenge settlement after they were alerted to the theft by the Herald.
Another area where electricity is being stolen is near the Marburg substation feeding into Mkholombe.
The Herald has been contacting Eskom in Durban since last Friday regarding the latest incident, but no one had responded at the time of writing.
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