A Mamelodi man has been arrested for theft of cables at HM Pitje Stadium.
Police spokesperson Captain Johannes Maheso said the police arrested the 28-year-old acting on a tip-off by security guards at Central sports ground.
“The guards were patrolling at Central sports ground around 03:00 when they heard disturbing sounds from HM Pitje stadium,” he said.
“When they went to investigate, they spotted a man standing by the floodlights, who immediately fled the scene.
The guards called the police, and when the police came to investigate, they spotted a man who had climbed up the floodlights.
The police immediately summoned the Tshwane emergency services and an electrician to the scene.”
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Maheso said fearing for the man’s life the police decided to wait for him to climb down.
He said the man eventually came down later in the morning and handed himself to the police.
HM Pitje stadium has been disused since 2005, despite the Tshwane metro and the provincial government pumping more than R20-million into its upgrade after the 2010 World Cup.
According to locals, the closure of the stadium has robbed Mamelodi Sundowns fans of a convenient home ground.
Locals have previously expressed concerned about the state of HM Pitje and claimed they were kept in the dark about whether the stadium will be demolished and rebuilt again.
The police say the suspect will soon appear in the Mamelodi Magistrate’s Court on charges of tampering with an essential service.
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