From Fixers to Felons: Suspended City Power Operators Offer to Replace Cable They Allegedly Stole

From Fixers to Felons: Suspended City Power Operators Offer to Replace Cable They Allegedly Stole

In a story that seems ripped from a crime thriller, three City Power operators are facing charges not for failing to stop cable theft, but for allegedly being the cable thieves. In a bizarre twist, their attempted cover-up offering to replace the very cable they are accused of stealing only served to seal their fate, exposing what the utility believes is a deep-seated culture of criminal collusion from within.

The incident, which led to their arrest this week, highlights a brutal truth for the beleaguered power utility: sometimes the biggest threat to the grid isn’t from the outside, but from the very people trusted to maintain it.

The Scene of the Crime

The saga began on a winter night in July, along Peter Road in Ruimsig. A team of vigilant private security officers, conducting a routine patrol, stumbled upon an open trench. What they found wasn’t just ordinary vandalism; it was a crime in progress. A thick, valuable 185mm copper cable had been cleanly cut on one side. The suspects fled, but the security team did everything right they secured the scene and immediately laid a criminal case with the police.

But then, the plot thickened. While the police were being notified, the security scouts reported a shocking development. A City Power truck arrived. Instead of securing the scene, the crew allegedly proceeded to finish the job, cutting the cable under the guise of taking it to a salvage yard. The very people sent to fix the problem were allegedly the ones causing it.

The Bungled Cover-Up

The operators’ alleged attempts to evade consequences were as brazen as the crime itself. Internal investigations soon uncovered a trail of irregularities. A permit issued for that day contained the names of all three operators, but only two signatures. Crucially, it falsely described the cable as “stolen” rather than “vandalised,” a deliberate misrepresentation meant to paper over the truth.

Then came the strange offer. In a move that stunned investigators, the suspended operators approached City Power and offered to replace the stolen cable. Their request was flatly refused. Undeterred, two of them later dropped off a different cable at the service delivery centre. It was the wrong type, a clumsy substitution that was immediately handed over to detectives as evidence of a conscious guilty plea.

A Pattern of Internal Betrayal

For City Power, this case is frustratingly familiar. It is not an isolated incident but part of a painful, ongoing pattern. Just a few months ago, the utility fired nine workers and suspended several managers on a raft of charges including theft, fraud, and negligence.

An investigation triggered by the Auditor-General’s report confirmed the utility’s worst fears: a well-coordinated network of collusion between employees and external syndicates, leading to massive financial losses. These internal actors create fraudulent job numbers, duplicate approvals, and exploit breaches in procurement all while residents are left in the dark.

The arrest of these three operators is a signal. It’s City Power drawing a line in the sand, declaring that it will no longer tolerate enemies from within. For paying customers who endure relentless power outages, it’s a small step toward accountability, and a stark warning that the people in the yellow trucks aren’t always the heroes we hope they are.

{Source: TheCitizen}

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