Five Emfuleni Local Municipality employees have been arrested for allegedly running an illegal electricity reconnection scheme in Vanderbijlpark.
The suspects were arrested by the Gauteng Political Killings Task Team during a takedown operation on 21 August 2026.
Police said the five employees are attached to the municipality’s Revenue and Electrical departments.
They are facing allegations of fraud, theft and tampering with essential infrastructure.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said preliminary investigations found that the suspects allegedly misrepresented themselves to municipal clients as officials authorised to reconnect electricity supplies that had been disconnected by the municipality.
“Preliminary investigations have established that the suspects allegedly operated a scheme in which they misrepresented themselves to municipal clients as duly authorised officials who could reconnect electricity supplies that had been disconnected by the municipality,” Mathe said.
According to police, clients were allegedly told to pay varying amounts of money directly into the suspects’ personal bank accounts in exchange for electricity reconnections.
The suspects are further alleged to have unlawfully reconnected electricity supplies without municipal authorisation.
Police said this resulted in the illegal use of electricity and financial losses to the municipality.
Mathe said the Gauteng PKTT would continue working with relevant stakeholders to ensure that public officials who abuse their positions for personal gain are held accountable.
“The Gauteng PKTT will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that those who abuse their positions for personal financial gain are held accountable,” she said.
The five suspects are expected to make their first court appearance on Monday.
Mathe said the investigation is still ongoing and more arrests may follow.
“The investigation remains ongoing, and further arrests are anticipated,” she said.
The arrests come amid growing concern about illegal electricity connections, municipal revenue losses and corruption involving officials responsible for service delivery.
Illegal reconnections place additional pressure on municipalities already battling debt, infrastructure damage and non-payment for services.
In this case, police allege the scheme involved municipal employees who used their positions and access to exploit residents whose electricity had been disconnected.
By allegedly directing payments into personal bank accounts, the suspects are accused of bypassing official municipal processes and depriving the municipality of revenue.
The alleged tampering with electricity infrastructure also raises safety concerns, as unauthorised reconnections can endanger residents, municipal workers and electrical systems.
The Gauteng Political Killings Task Team’s involvement suggests the matter may have formed part of broader investigations into criminality, corruption or intimidation linked to local government operations.
However, police have so far only confirmed the charges relating to fraud, theft and tampering with essential infrastructure.
The suspects’ names have not yet been released.
They are expected to appear in court, where the charges will be formally put to them.
Police said further arrests are anticipated as investigators continue probing the alleged scheme.
For now, the confirmed facts are that five Emfuleni municipal employees were arrested in Vanderbijlpark on 21 August 2026 and are accused of illegally reconnecting electricity in exchange for payments into their personal bank accounts.
