A recent spate of cable theft plunged the Vryheid Rural East area into darkness when thieves cut down more than thirty poles and made off with over three thousand meters of power lines between Wednesday night and Saturday evening. A heist of monumental proportions, clearly well-orchestrated by the criminals behind this massive operation.
The following Tuesday afternoon, Vryheid police confirmed that some of the stolen cable had been recovered near the dumpsite and that they were following up on information that should lead to the subsequent arrest of the perpetrators of this crime, which could be considered by some as a vicious act of economical sabotage.
Despite the recovery of the stolen cable, Vryheid SAPS are yet to make any arrests.
ALSO READ: VIDEO: Surge in cable theft leads to blackouts in Vryheid and surrounds
AND: Cable theft – the new suburban crime
It appears that the poles were all cut down with a chainsaw and a red Isuzu bakkie has allegedly been implicated in the crime.
Speculation has arisen that the culprits may be linked to the recent protests in the Shoba area, where the community was up in arms over what they perceived to be the abandonment by the municipality of a project that was underway to provide electricity to them.
Four days with no electricity, and no running water in some cases, ensued in the Vryheid Rural East area and, with Vryheid and surrounding areas being a region previously referred to as a hotspot for farm attacks, an absolute nightmare for farmers.
Despite the tireless efforts of municipal electricians and contractors who, in the absence of the cherrypicker, had to manually climb the poles to connect the cabling, electricity was only restored on Sunday night.
“This is a concerning situation,” commented AbaQulusi’s Deputy Mayor, Cllr Mncedisi Maphisa. “It is a challenge that must be addressed…”
