Kriel – Suspected thieves – 36-year-old Eskom employee Sphiwe Sindane and 41- year-old truck driver Loveless Mabaso – accused of stealing heavy fuel oil worth one million rand have appeared in court.
The female truck driver, attached to a company subcontracted to supply heavy fuel oil to Eskom, and the power utility staffer appeared before the Kriel Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga on a charge of theft and fraud.
Allegations are that the pair connived to defraud Eskom.
They allegedly diverted a delivery of heavy fuel oil to a person known to them instead of Eskom.
Later, Sindane allegedly submitted a fraudulent invoice to Eskom for the fuel oil, which had been diverted elsewhere.
Eskom, which uses heavy fuel oil in electricity production, said it suffered a loss of one million rand.
An investigation by the priority committee on security energy led to the pair’s arrest.
The pair were arrested on Wednesday, (19 July 2023), in connection with the “missing” heavy fuel oil that was meant to be delivered to the Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga.
Since its establishment on 1 April 2022 by the National Commissioner of the SA Police Service, General Fannie Masemola, the priority committee has investigated 1 586 Eskom-related cases.
So far, 126 arrests have been made.
Items stolen from Eskom worth about R1 billion have been recovered.
The recovered loot includes 42 firearms, 83 x loads of coal by 33-ton trucks, and mining machinery.
