Five Mpumalanga men will spend time in jail after they were caught red-handed allegedly digging up and skinning copper cables at Eskom’s Tutuka Power Station in Standerton.

It is said that a fire at the Eskom Tutuka Power Station in Standerton resulted in the arrest of five criminals who were caught red-handed digging up and skinning copper cables worth approximately R3,200 on November 29, 2022, at midnight.

On that day, the security personnel on duty received a call regarding a fire that broke out in the utility, and all role players were activated.

“A total of five suspects were caught in the act of digging up and skinning copper cables,” police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said.

“The suspects, Mokhele Mokhele, 21, Tshwarelo Moloi, 32, Makato Motsepa, 41, Machabe Nkhere, 27, and Johannes Twala, 57, were arrested and then denied bail from their first day in court until their fate was decided on September 27, 2023,” Mohlala said.

Mohlala further added that Mokhele was sentenced to 15 years of direct imprisonment, while Moloi, Motsepa, Nkhere, and Twala were each sentenced to 10 years of direct imprisonment for the damage to essential infrastructure.