Johannesburg - Four people have been found guilty of 16 451 charges related to electricity theft after being found in possession of an Eskom electricity dispensing machine.
On December 12, the Palm Ridge Regional Court ruled in favour of Eskom, handing down a guilty verdict on the four accused, including a 56-year-old woman and her 23-year-old son. The four, who collectively faced at least 36000 charges, were found guilty on 16451 counts.
The two main suspects, Mafuthi Chiliza and her son Nqobile Chiliza, from De Deur, south of Joburg, were arrested in December 2012 when they were found in possession of a stolen credit dispensing unit (CDU). The machine, which belonged to Eskom, prints out prepaid electricity vouchers.
“Also recovered from the Chilizas’ premises was a hard drive belonging to another stolen CDU machine; numerous customer lists, including electricity meter numbers; 996 illegal prepaid electricity vouchers of varying value; as well as other equipment used for printing prepaid electricity vouchers,” said Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe.
The court established that the two accused were also found in possession of customer lists, meter numbers and illegal prepaid vouchers.
Cellphone records revealed that Mafuthi Chiliza was the ringleader of a syndicate that sold illegal prepaid electricity vouchers.
Phasiwe said Eskom had a long-term plan to combat illegal electricity usage, with this case setting a precedent. “This case is a strong message for those who even think about taking part in any illegal activities. Even though this case has been ongoing for years, it will set a precedent for future cases.”
Richard de Nobrega, senior adviser for Eskom security investigations, who also testified at the trial, said that to recover the money lost by the power utility due to electricity theft, including illegal connections, meter-tampering and bypassing, and the selling of illegal prepaid vouchers, Eskom was forced to increase the price of electricity, which ultimately affected legal electricity users in the form of increased tariffs.
“Eskom loses billions each year to electricity theft, but Eskom or the state is not the only victim of this crime.”
Sentencing was scheduled for February 3.