Lekwa Local Municipality (LLM) has experienced significant infrastructure vandalism, with 38 incidents reported in the past three months.

According to Lubabalo Majenge, spokesperson for the LLM, the municipality had a surge in these incidents over the past week, with hotspots for vandalism including Ward 3 and Ward 6.

“These acts of vandalism targeted critical electrical infrastructure. Criminals damaged mini substations and stole electrical conductors and cables, resulting in service disruptions to affected communities,” said Majenge.

He explained that replacing these essential infrastructure parts after the criminals damaged them was a costly affair. According to Majenge, ordinary household cables cost an estimated R160/meter, and the three-phase mini substations cost around R500 000 to repair.

“The municipality is losing more by constantly replacing these pieces of essential infrastructure when stolen or vandalised,” said Majenge.

He explained in a statement that during a joint operation of the Sakhile Police Station and the municipality, the team successfully tracked and arrested five suspects for cable theft and damaging essential infrastructure on January 26.

Majenge said this was only one of 38 pending cases that the municipality has against alleged cable thieves. Acting municipal manager Mthembeni Jiyane condemned these criminal activities.

“The vandalism of municipal infrastructure not only disrupts essential services but also places a financial burden on the municipality,” said Jiyane.

He said the municipality would continue to work with law enforcement to protect public assets. Kasselman Security Services (KSS) also had many successes in the past, recovering stolen cables and arresting suspects for theft and vandalism of infrastructure.

In a case on January 15, KSS received a tip-off about suspects digging near electrical cables in the Standerton Riverpark. KSS sent out a drone to scout the area and confirmed the suspects’ location with thermal technology.

Armed reaction officers found one suspect near the Kruger Bridge with tools believed to have been used in this case. In a case on January 19, thieves dug up electrical cables at the intersection of Nelson Mandela and Esselen Street in Meyerville.

Captain Braam Robberts from the Standerton SAPS stated that a large portion of theft cases go unsolved because suspects have already fled by the time they are reported. Robberts also explained that tracing stolen cables is a difficult task.

“Criminals melt off the casings of the copper cables, and melted cables are nearly impossible to identify,” explained Robberts.

Furthermore, cable thieves tend to target areas where foot traffic is low, and they are less likely to be spotted. According to Robberts, a lack of working streetlights in dense, dark areas contributes to the high rates of cable theft.

He also said that taxpayers suffer the most from this crime. Several households spend days without electricity as a direct consequence of damaged infrastructure.

According to Majenge, the community may be without electricity for days or months if the municipality does not have the correct equipment or materials to perform damage control on affected substations or electrical lines.

Majenge explained that vandalism to essential infrastructure can cause network trips from the main substations, which can affect more areas of the community before the damaged areas are isolated.

In some instances, this can cause explosions and fires. Local guest house owner Hilell Coetzer said infrastructure damage has directly affected his business.

In 2025, cable theft left his guest house without an electricity supply for four days. To accommodate his guests, he had to run a generator constantly during the electrical supply interruption.

“I had to pay diesel costs and generator maintenance to run my business,” said Coetzer.

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