Mob attacks Eskom men over cut-offs

SCORES of villagers at Tabina outside Lenyenye in Tzaneen attacked Eskom workers and pelted their vehicles with stones on Wednesday night.

The Eskom workers were busy removing illegal electricity connections from local houses when they were attacked.

Police were called to quell the situation but no one has been arrested.

"We have dispatched officers to patrol the village on a 24-hour basis for further possible eruption of violence," police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.

A villager said the crowds could have been angered by the move to cut off electricity, saying Eskom should have warned them before taking action.

Mulaudzi warned against illegal power connections, saying these posed a serious danger to people's lives.

Spokesperson for Eskom in Mopani Khutisha Ramotlou said the energy utility had been removing illegal connections in houses since the beginning of this month.

He said the campaign was fuelled by the number of people, especially children, who lost their lives due to these illegal connections.

Ramatlou said the campaign against illegal connections would move to other areas.

Eskom spokesperson Hilary Joffe said there were no reports of injuries during Wednesday's attack.

She said the parastatal had started a programme to remove illegal connections after several fatalities were reported.

"Last year, 10 people were killed by illegal connections and this year there were six."