Five Emfuleni municipal employees arrested over alleged electricity reconnection scheme
Five Emfuleni Local Municipality employees have been arrested over an alleged scheme to illegally reconnect electricity supplies in exchange for payments made directly into their bank accounts, police said.
According to the Gauteng Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), five employees from the Emfuleni Local Municipality have been arrested for allegedly running a scheme to illegally reconnect electricity supplies for personal financial gain. The suspects face charges of fraud, theft, and tampering with essential infrastructure, police reported.
Their arrest took place during a raid on August 21, 2026, in Vanderbijlpark. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe stated that the suspects, who work for both the Revenue and Electrical departments of the municipality, allegedly pretended to be authorized officials to reconnect electricity that had been disconnected by the municipality.
Clients were reportedly asked to pay varying sums directly into the suspects' bank accounts for the illegal reconnection of electricity. Mathe added that the suspects also allegedly reconnected electricity without proper authorization, leading to misuse of electricity and financial losses for the municipality. The Gauteng PKTT will continue to hold accountable those who abuse their positions for personal financial gain, according to Mathe.
The five suspects are set to make their first court appearance on Monday, and the investigation is ongoing with further arrests expected.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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