Eskom employees arrested over disappearance of spares at Tutuka power station worth hundreds of millions rands
Two Eskom employees and a supplier arrested and charged with theft, fraud and corruption
related to the disappearance of spares at Tutuka power station valued at hundreds of millions
of rand; more arrests expected in another fuel oil crime syndicate
Friday, 05 November 2021: Two Eskom employees who were arrested on Thursday, 04 November
2021, at Tutuka Power Station appeared in the Standerton Magistrate’s Court today. A supplier who is
also a suspect in the case was arrested today. All three suspects were charged with fraud, theft and
corruption in a crime in which hundreds of millions of rands in goods and services have been paid by
Eskom when such have not been delivered or rendered at the Power Station.
The arrests followed months of internal investigative work by Eskom, in cooperation with the law
enforcement agencies in Mpumalanga.
Eskom’s investigations have also established the existence of a syndicate responsible for the theft of
approximately R100 million worth of fuel oil per month from the power station.
The suspects, Jessie Phindile Kubeka, who is 51% shareholder in a supplier company; Eskom
employees Sarah Nomsa Sibiya (Senior Technician Operating) and Bhekizizwe Solomon Twala (Senior
Storeperson), are all facing the same charges. They were released on bail of R5 000 each. The trial
has been set to down for 21 February 2022.
It is anticipated that four other suspects involved in the same scheme are expected to be arrested during
the course of next week. Further, warrants of arrest are being prepared concerning other suspects in
the fuel oil syndicate.
“Eskom, and Tutuka power station in particular, continues to be the scene of the most despicable of
crimes perpetrated by some of the very people tasked with the stewardship of this public institution and
by unscrupulous suppliers,” said Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter. “Whilst these investigations take a long
time to come to fruition, the wins whereby arrests are made and criminals are brought to answer for
their unlawful conduct, goes a long way towards making a positive contribution to the rebuilding of the
organisation.”
While the management team and Board are currently seized with the restoration of operations across
Eskom, they have also been dismantling well established crime syndicates that are profiting from the problems that are costing the whole country dearly.
