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At least 10 vehicles assigned to the City of Tshwane’s energy and electricity business unit have been hijacked since January 2025, while officials were busy executing critical operational duties in various communities in the municipality.
Tshwane spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the city is deeply concerned about criminal attacks directed at its staff and infrastructure.
Last month, Tshwane reported that officials disconnecting illegal electricity connections in parts of the city had come under attack, and metro police officers had to be called to the scene.
Mashigo said these incidents placed the lives and well-being of municipal employees at risk and negatively affected the city’s ability to respond swiftly to electricity faults, infrastructure breakdown and other service delivery obligations.
“Every vehicle lost or taken out of operation limits the city’s response capacity…” — Lindela Mashigo
“Following these traumatic incidents, the affected employees were referred to the employee assistance programme to ensure that they receive the necessary psychological and emotional support,” Mashigo said.
“The city wishes to emphasise that municipal vehicles, equipment and operational resources are public assets procured for the direct benefit of residents and communities.”
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Mashigo said hijackings, robberies, vandalism and theft of infrastructure disrupt essential services, delay restoration work and place additional financial pressure on the municipality.
“Every vehicle lost or taken out of operation limits the city’s response capacity and affects communities that rely on timely interventions from technical teams, particularly during power outages and infrastructure failures.”
He said the city’s energy and electricity business unit was working closely with law enforcement agencies and internal security structures to strengthen preventive measures aimed at protecting employees and operational assets while carrying out their service delivery responsibilities.
“The city also continuously assesses operational risks and implements interventions intended to improve the safety of front-line personnel who often work under difficult and unpredictable conditions to restore and maintain services for residents.
“The city further calls on communities to play an active role in safeguarding public infrastructure and supporting efforts to combat criminality.
“Residents are encouraged to report suspicious activities, attempted robberies, vandalism, theft of municipal infrastructure and attacks on municipal workers to law enforcement agencies and the relevant municipal authorities.”
Mashigo said protecting municipal infrastructure was a shared responsibility, as these assets were essential to sustaining a reliable electricity supply and broader service delivery to communities.
“Through stronger co-operation between communities, law enforcement and the municipality, the city believes meaningful progress can be made in protecting critical infrastructure and ensuring uninterrupted service delivery to residents,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Joburg, City Power technicians and contractors have faced a wave of violent crime in the past financial year, with the utility recording one murder, seven robberies, three hijackings, 12 hostage incidents, one burglary and four shootings.
The utility said it was strengthening collaboration with patrollers, community policing forums and private security companies after a surge in attacks, robberies and hostage-taking.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said employees and contractors would continue to be escorted to high-risk areas when threats were identified.
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A security officer was recently gunned down while protecting the microgrid plant at the Shalazile informal settlement in Denver, Johannesburg.
He was shot three times, and his firearm and cellphone were stolen.
It is believed the perpetrators were attempting to steal the entity’s electricity infrastructure.
Mangena said in another incident, in March, one of their technicians was threatened at gunpoint in Coronationville while responding to an outage affecting that suburb, Newclare and Westbury.
Again, in April, five-armed suspects hijacked a City Power contractor’s vehicle at gunpoint in Alexandra, stealing a bakkie along with valuable equipment, including tools, a generator and welding materials.
Sowetan
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