The man posed as an Eskom contractor in the Eastern Cape. (Netwerk24/William Horne)
A man accused of tampering with Eskom infrastructure and illegally connecting households to its electricity supply has been slapped with a five-year prison sentence. Additionally, a company for which he was previously a consultant has been ordered to pay a R10 000 fine.
On Wednesday, the Mthatha Specialised Criminal Court sentenced John Tazvivinga for falsely claiming to be an Eskom contractor to residents of Marhambeni in Mthatha, Eastern Cape. His prison sentence will remain suspended, provided the man does not commit a similar offence during the suspension period.
In a statement, Eskom said Tazvivinga, formerly a consultant for Inkitha Royal Empire Construction, had tampered with infrastructure in order to connect households illegally between January and April 2016, causing Eskom a loss of some R231 000.
Under the pretense that he was an Eskom contractor, Tazvivinga had been hired by Marhambeni residents to connect electricity, pocketing some R120 000.
Tazvivinga and Inkitha Royal Empire Construction were charged by Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Investigations in 2019.
Eskom’s general manager for security, Botse Skihwitshi, welcomed the court’s finding, while adding that the utility had hoped for a more severe sentence. According to Skihwitshi, convictions for Eskom-related crimes have doubled in the 2023/24 financial year compared to 2022/23.
“Eskom strongly condemns, and will not tolerate, any impersonation of its business and staff by anyone. We are thankful to the internal security investigations and the Specialised Commercial Crime Investigation teams for their collaborative efforts over the years. While the sentence may not be as severe as Eskom had hoped, it serves as a reminder to potential criminals contemplating tampering with critical infrastructure and stealing electricity, could lead to a maximum prison sentence of 30 years,” Skihwitshi said.
