Vanderbijlpark – All seven suspects in the Emfuleni Local Municipality multimillion-rand electricity fraud scam have been granted bail of R20 000 each by the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court.
The accused include 31-year-old David Seneekal, 39-year-old Caroline Smangele Maduna, 35-year-old Kenneth Zongezile Mahobe, 29-year-old Hlawutelo Baloyi, 36-year-old Pule Meshack Masilo, 48-year-old Andries Bafana Maduna, and 46-year-old Sibusiso Patrick Tshabalala.
They face charges of fraud, theft of electricity valued at approximately R9.9 million, fraud and theft involving a further R150 000, money laundering, and tampering with essential infrastructure.
They were arrested late last month.
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Today, Monday 14 September 2026, the accused were granted bail with conditions.
They were ordered to attend all court proceedings until the matter is finalised, reside at the addresses provided to the court, and notify the investigating officer of any change of address.
They were also ordered to report twice weekly at the Vanderbijlpark Police Station, every Monday and Friday between 06:00 and 18:00.
They are prohibited from interfering with witnesses or the ongoing investigation.
In addition, the accused are prohibited from leaving the country and have been ordered to surrender their passports to the investigating officer.
Investigations have so far revealed that, between February 2024 and June 2026, the Emfuleni Local Municipality disconnected the electricity supply of businesses and residents whose accounts were in arrears.
The accused allegedly approached affected business owners and residents and offered to reconnect their electricity supply in exchange for payment.
After receiving payment, the accused allegedly unlawfully reconnected the electricity supply and manipulated municipal records to reflect a reduced outstanding balance on the affected accounts.
In subsequent months, however, the affected consumers’ municipal accounts allegedly reverted to reflecting the original arrears.
Even though their electricity supply remained connected through the underhand arrangement, peeved off that their arrears were not cleared business owners reported the matter to municipal authorities.
Following an internal investigation, the municipality referred the matter to the South African Police Service for criminal investigation.
The seven accused were subsequently arrested on 21 August 2026.
The State opposed the accused’s release on bail.
However, the court found that their release was in the interests of justice and granted bail subject to the conditions imposed.
The matter was adjourned to 18 September 2026 for the bail judgment of the eighth accused, Janitha Van Reenen Coetzee.
