Constant power outages caused by cable theft is fuelling anti-foreign sentiments among communities in southern Johannesburg.
Residents are now confronting brazen cable thugs targeting their areas with organisations such as Operation Dudula and the Patriotic Alliance leading some of the operations targeted at people who are illegally connected to the power grid.
On Tuesday night, residents of Eldorado Park captured nine men believed to be involved in cable theft that has left the community in the dark. They were then handed over to police.
Police spokesperson Col Brenda Muridili said community patrollers found the armed gang which opened fire on them digging up cables in the area. No-one was injured.
“Four of the nine suspects are in hospital under police guard. They will be facing a charge of tampering with essential infrastructure,” Muridili said.
The incident comes just two days after residents of Pimville, Soweto, went to Chicken Farm informal settlement in Kliptown to confront people about cable theft that had left them in the dark since Sunday.
Operation Dudula leader Nhlanhla “Lux” Dlamini was among marchers.
Kgomotso Vincent Diale was shot dead when a car with Lesotho registration plates opened fire on the group.
The march was organised after Pimville Zones 3, 4, 5 and 7 were left in the dark after a cable was stolen on Sunday.
One of the organisers, Siphiwe Mnisi, said the community first went to the area where the cable had been stolen near the settlement and saw the trenches where it was removed.
“We got information that the people who have a hand in cable theft are from Chicken Farm. We said let us go and speak to the leadership of the informal settlement about the issue.”
On Thursday last week, a substation caught fire in Eldorado Park, plunging the area and its surrounds into darkness.
Thereafter, residents in Eldorado Park organised themselves and formed patrol groups made up of Community Policing Forums, local security companies and members of the Patriotic Alliance.
Patroller Keith Duarte told Sowetan: “Cable theft has always been there because there is a market for it. Here in Eldorado Park, we’ve had to close two scrapyards to stop the problem in the area.
“It is the very same guys that caused problems in Pimville that are giving us problems. It is the same people. They know the area very well. Our perception as a community is that if you enter the country illegally, then there will not be any legal work for you. You then depend on illegal means to survive,” Duarte said.
But a group of Basotho people living in a nearby Goudkoppies landfill site dismissed allegations that they are responsible for the cable theft in Eldorado Park.
Abdul Gaffoor, a manager at Riaz Super Meat Centre, said since the outage, he has been spending R3,000 a day to power a generator just to keep the business afloat.
“I had to dispose of two sheep which I had bought because the meat was off. We are talking about R5,000 worth of stock. With the generator that I have, I cannot run all the fridges at the same time. I connect others for three hours and others afterward. I’m sure if power does not return, I will have to throw away more meat,” Gafoor said.
He said that due to the power outage, customers were buying less meat which has cut his profits by 15%.
Pastor Gay Noleena Matera said living without electricity has been hell as she takes care of her 21-year-old disabled daughter who needs constant care.
“I have to go and make fire outside to boil water to bath her. I also have to start the fire again just to cook a meal for her...It has been extremely difficult,” Matera said.
Police minister Bheki Cele visited Kliptown on Wednesday to address concerns from residents about police inaction in the area after a series of violent clashes and shootings.
Cele said the office of the national commissioner of police will provide 10 new police vehicles to the Kliptown police station to help fight the crime in the area.
‘We have dedicated a team of 12 detectives that are going to deal with the cases of attempted murder and murder. They are here,’’ said Cele.
‘’The police should arrest everyone who committed murder and attempted murder within 48 hours. I am told that the march was peaceful and no-one was provoked. Police should also look out for stores that buy stolen copper cables. The police will have to act on crime, illegal guns and illegal people. There should be an immediate response from the police on this,’’ said Cele.
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