DOSSIER:  Truck driver arrested following theft of the parastatal’s fuel worth R300 000…

By Lehlohonolo Lehana

Two Eskom employees and a fuel truck driver have been arrested for fraud and theft at the Kendal Power Station in Mpumalanga.

The truck was stopped and inspected close to a Petrol Station in Ogies, and on inspection by South African Police Services (SAPS) Illicit Mining and Economic Infrastructure Task Team, it was established that the tanker contained a full load of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO).

During questioning, the driver presented a weighbridge slip confirming the delivery of the fuel. The driver was instructed to proceed back to the Kendal Power Station, where arrangements were made to have the tanker re-weighed.

It was then established that only 1,680kg of fuel was offloaded instead of the full consignment. Eskom suffered a loss of approximately R300 000.00.

The SAPS arrested the driver, and a criminal fraud and theft case was opened at the Ogies Police Station. The truck driver was released on R2,000.00 bail after appearing in the Ogies Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday (18 April).

Following the court proceedings, two Eskom plant operators from Kendal Power Station linked to the matter were also arrested and are expected to apply for bail on Monday (24 April).

“The theft of HFO is a highly organised criminal activity, and syndicates involved are being enriched through the proceeds derived from the illicit trade of the stolen products,” Eskom said.

“Eskom continues to lose billions of rands due to the misappropriation and adulteration of these critical commodities, which directly affects production,” it added.

“The arrest of these unscrupulous individuals is a significant step in our fight against crime in Eskom and the country, and we shall continue in our pursuit to ensure that the perpetrators face the full might of the law,” said Advocate Karen Pillay, General Manager for Security at Eskom.

“The persistent and excellent efforts by the Eskom Security Team, Bidvest Protea Coin Task Team and the SAPS, all working tirelessly to identify and disrupt the criminal networks, indicate our determination to root out the criminal elements from Eskom,” she added.

Eskom noted that it would provide the required support to the SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority to ensure that the suspects are successfully prosecuted and that a stiff sanction is meted out as a favourable outcome will serve to deter other would-be offenders.

Eskom urges the public to report information regarding theft of coal, fuel oil and diesel to the Eskom Crime Line: 0800 11 27 22.

CATCH

THE MONSTERS!

Mutilated: Shock brutal killing of two Soweto boys

By Ali Mphaki

Their sin was merely to accept a “joyride” from a white car. Some say it was blue, but most probably from someone they knew. This would be their last ride – and the last they were seen alive

Their lifeless bodies found early the next morning. The one, Tshiamo (Goodness in English) Rabanye, was 6-years-old.  The other, Nqobizitha (Victor in English) Zulu, only 5.

But there was no goodness when the scumbags slit Tshiamo’s throat. Neither was Nqobizitha able to defeat his evil assailants who left his torso minus his nose and mouth. The two boys had their penis foreskin cut.

Just what kind of people would do this is the vexing question the shocked, angst, and revolted residents of White City and Rockville in Soweto are grappling with. What did the assailants ever hope to gain by mutilating the young boys, everybody is asking.

With no traces of blood near where their bodies were found, police suspect the toddlers were bludgeoned elsewhere before they were dumped in separated places.

Tshiamo’s body was found near the Moroka Dam in Rockville, and Nqobizitha’s limbs found next to Thubelihle Secondary school – less than a kilometre from their respective homes.

As if to add insult to injury, Tshiamo’s body was discovered by an informal waste collector among broken bottles and soggy newspapers – denied its childlike innocence and dignity, reduced to the state of junk. Tshiamo and Nqo, as the latter was fondly referred to, were last seen playing with another 5-year-old boy on Tuesday evening.

The story goes that a car whose occupants are not known stopped and someone inside called the boys to get into the vehicle. Call it luck, or fate, the other boy smelt a rat and instead ran back home.

“He came home screaming and shaking, calling the names of his friends out.

We did not give him attention and proceeded to beat him as he had gone out playing at night, not realising that he was actually telling us about what happened to him and his friends. ..but now it’s too late,“ said the lucky boy’s aunt as quoted in the media.

Nomthandazo Zulu said she left her grandson playing, and later when she returned home, they thought she had left with him. ‘’We went to the home of his friend, who also went missing.

They, too, thought the children were with me. That is when we went to the Moroka police station to open a missing person case. We went searching together with the police until 3am,” the aunt added.

The situation around White City and Rockville remain tense, with residents locking their properties and huddled inside their houses afraid to go out especially in the dark.

The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Gauteng, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, has mobilised resources following the gruesome murder of the two toddlers.

Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi says the culture of lawlessness in the province is exactly why millions of rands have been set aside for crime fighting. Lesufi visited three families to provide the necessary protection, counselling and support.

By late Friday no arrests have been made.

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