The enforcement operation focused on facilities that have become centres for electricity theft, criminal operations, and severe environmental degradation.
City Power will install solar-powered streetlights in Hillbrow as part of a major enforcement operation targeting illegal electricity connections at two hijacked buildings.
The utility said this would offer a vandal-resistant solution to restore safety in crime-affected areas.
Independent lighting system to combat crime
On Wednesday, City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the solar streetlights represent a strategic shift in how the city addresses infrastructure vandalism in compromised areas.
“In addition to removing illegal connections, we will, working with Jozi my Jozi, also be installing solar-powered streetlights to restore lighting and improve public safety in the area,” Mangena said.
“These streetlight units operate independently of the electrical grid, meaning even if one pole is vandalised, the rest continue to function, unlike the conventional lights that are interconnected.”
Mangena said the solar lights would provide continuous illumination during load shedding or power outages, helping to reduce crime and create safer environments at night.
This lighting solution follows a coordinated action by several City of Joburg entities at the Florence House building and the hijacked nurses home near the Hillbrow health precinct, where vandalised conventional streetlights had created conditions that enabled criminal activity.
“We also noted vandalism of our streetlights around the precinct, which has created an unsafe environment, enabling criminal elements to operate freely and threatening the safety of residents, health-care workers, and patients,” Mangena said.
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Hillbrow crackdown operation uncovers deplorable conditions
The enforcement operation focused on facilities that have become centres for electricity theft, criminal operations, and severe environmental degradation threatening nearby healthcare services.
According to Mangena, City Power teams removed illegal connection wires and cables on Tuesday, 9 December 2025, disconnecting an active streetlight pole that occupants had converted into an electrical source.
Inspections revealed dire circumstances, including significant structural deterioration, exposed live electrical wires, accumulated filth, and overflowing sewage.
The conditions underscored both the urgency of intervention and the need for sustainable infrastructure solutions like solar lighting.
“As part of a newly established unit set up within City Power to address the problem of abandoned and hijacked buildings within the city, we’ve embarked on an extensive programme of identifying these problematic buildings,” Mangena stated.
“As an entity responsible for electricity supply, we started by removing a minisubstation that had been unlawfully converted into a supply point for occupants of the hijacked buildings.”
Citywide initiative targets 600 buildings
The utility’s spokesperson added that the programme aligns with the city’s implementation of recommendations from the Usindiso Commission of Inquiry, which specifically addressed abandoned and hijacked buildings as breeding grounds for criminal activity and fire hazards.
The specialised City Power unit is currently assessing more than 600 buildings across the city where illegal connections and electricity theft are rampant.
As part of the inner-city revitalisation initiative, illegal occupants are being evicted while assessments continue to determine whether buildings can be rehabilitated or require demolition.
“We are working with all stakeholders, including councillors and community leaders, to protect critical infrastructure, uphold bylaws, and restore dignity to communities affected by unsafe and unlawfully occupied properties,” Mangena said.
Related enforcement action in Bryanston
The Hillbrow operation follows the sweeping-enforcement action in the city that resulted in the arrest of more than 40 people, including undocumented foreign nationals, at a hijacked property in Bryanston.
This operation was led by City of Joburg MMC for public safety Mgcini Tshwaku.
Officials discovered a criminal enterprise at the Bryanston property, where occupants, many without legal documentation, were being forced to pay syndicates, illegally controlling the building, R2 000 per room per month.
Authorities believe the property had become a hub for crime, drug activity, and potentially illegal firearms, prompting the urgent intervention and intensifying the city’s efforts to dismantle criminal networks operating within illegally occupied buildings.
♦️HAPPENING NOW♦️
— COJ People’s MMC Public Safety (@PublicSafetyMMC) December 4, 2025
The MMC is leading a decisive crackdown on a hijacked property in Bryanston, where more than 40 suspects have been arrested, including undocumented foreign nationals.
What makes this operation even more alarming is that residents were being exploited and… pic.twitter.com/NieM10OBjM
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