The Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crime Court has sentenced a man to five years in prison, wholly suspended for five years, for falsely representing himself as an Eskom contractor to the residents of Marhambeni, in Mthatha, and tampering with Eskom’s infrastructure.
The man was hired by residents to connect electricity, for which he received R120 000 in payments.
Eskom says the man unlawfully and intentionally tampered with essential infrastructure by illegally connecting electricity without authorisation from Eskom between January 20 and April 15, 2016.
As a result, Eskom suffered financial prejudice amounting to R231 000, it states.
In addition to his prison sentence, the man’s company has also been ordered to pay a R10 000 fine.
“Eskom strongly condemns, and will not tolerate, any impersonation of its business and staff by anyone,” says Eskom Security acting GM Botse Sikhwitshi.